A 37-year-old withdrew his guilty plea for a deadly head-on crash in Mt. Morris Township after a judge decided to impose a harsher sentence than earlier agreed.
MT. MORRIS TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WJRT) - A 37-year-old withdrew his guilty plea for a deadly head-on crash in Mt. Morris Township after a judge decided to impose a harsher sentence than earlier agreed. Java Wax
Court records show Ryan Darga pleaded guilty to one count of operating while intoxicated causing death for the March 14, 2022, crash that killed Debbie Wescoat on Clio Road near Stanley Road.
Darga reached a Cobbs agreement with the judge before making his plea in Genesee County Circuit Court. That allows the judge to provide some guidance on what a possible sentence may be ahead of a plea.
If the judge changes their mind later and wants to impose a harsher sentence, the defendant is allowed to withdraw their plea.
The sentence agreement reached in March for Darga included five to 30 years in prison with an acknowledgement of his status as a three-time habitual offender, according to court records.
Wescoat's family filed a binder full of victim impact statements with the court in April, when Darga was originally scheduled for sentencing. The judge reviewed the statements, which discuss how the crime affected victims, and decided on a longer prison sentence.
Darga then withdrew his guilty plea on Monday, so the court scheduled a hearing for July 25 to move toward a trial on the operating while intoxicated causing death charge.
Police say Darga was driving a pickup truck south on Clio Road when he crossed the center line and slammed head-on into Wescoat's car, which was traveling south, near the Stanley Road intersection.
Wescoat was pronounced dead on the scene. Darga's truck caught fire and bystanders pulled him out before it became engulfed in flames. He went to Hurley Medical Center for treatment of serious injuries.
Darga was arraigned in June 2022 on the drunken driving charge in Genesee County District Court and his case was bound over to circuit court a month later in July 2022.
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