Axel Ndagijimana, photo via WKYT-TV.
On May 7, 2021, Axel Ndagijimana, then 21-years-old, was driving at nearly 80 MPH on West High Street, between Rupp Arena and Oliver Lewis Boulevard, when he lost control of his vehicle and ran off the right shoulder into a utility pole. There are warning signs in the area of an upcoming narrow bend to the left. Ralph Hirwa, aged 20 years, his passenger, never got the opportunity to turn 21.
Man charged in a deadly Lexington crash gets probation after pleading guilty
by Taylor Six | Monday, July 24, 2023 | 11:54 AM EDT | Updated: Tuesday, July 25, 2023 | 6:56 AM EDT
A man previously charged with second-degree manslaughter for his involvement in a deadly car crash has received three years of probation after pleading guilty to a lesser charge.
Axel Ndagijimana, 24, of Lexington, was arrested and charged in June 2021 after a passenger in his car died from injuries in a crash on West High Street. Ndagijimana’s was driving “at a high rate of speed” west on High Street before Oliver Lewis Way when he lost control and the vehicle ran off the right shoulder into a utility pole, police said. The crash killed 20-year-old Ralph Hirwa.
Ndagijimana was accused of driving more than 80 mph in a 25 mph zone at the time of the crash, and a blood test taken after the crash showed he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.159, a detective testified previously. The legal limit in Kentucky is 0.08.
His attorney, Bradley Clark, said his client made a “monumental error in judgment” by deciding to drive after drinking. Clark wrote that the death of Hirwa was a tragedy, and Ndagijimana had made amends to the victim’s family.
So, he was drunk as a skunk, with a BAC of twice the legal limit at however long after the accident the test was taken, yet driving anyway, in an area with narrow streets, at over 80 miles per hour. Sounds like an open-and-shut case to me!
Mr Ndagijimana was initially charged with KRS §507.040, manslaughter in the second degree, a Class C Felony. Under KRS §532.060(2)(c), a Class C Felony is punishable by “not less than five (5) years nor more than ten (10) years” in prison.
But Mr Ndagijimana was allowed to plead down to KRS §507.050, reckless homicide, which is a Class D Felony. Under KRS §532.060(2)(d), a Class D Felony is punishable by “not less than one (1) year nor more than five (5) years” behind bars.
In other words, Mr Ndagijimana was already given one break, a maximum sentence of five years.
Clark asked that Ndagijimana get probation. He said Ndagijimana had a low risk for reoffending and was in the United States on a student visa. If he were imprisoned, he’d be deported back to Rwanda, which he fled a decade ago amid civil war, Clark said in court documents.
Really? The Rwandan civil war ended in 1994, which is before Mr Ndagijimana was even born. From Wikipedia:
Within Rwanda, a period of reconciliation and justice began, with the establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the reintroduction of Gacaca, a traditional village court system. Since 2000 Rwanda’s economy, tourist numbers, and Human Development Index have grown rapidly; between 2006 and 2011 the poverty rate reduced from 57% to 45%, while life expectancy rose from 46.6 years in 2000 to 65.4 years in 2021.
The United States Department of State Travel Advisory for Rwanda, dated October 22, 2022 and not subsequently updated, is set at Level One: Exercise Normal Precautions, noting only border area conflicts in the areas near Barundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Reporter Taylor Six’s report does not make it perfectly clear, but at least from the quoted paragraph, it would seem as though Mr Ndagijimana’s attorney, Bradley Clark, misrepresented the situation.
On Friday, Fayette Circuit Judge Kimberly Bunnell sentenced Ndagijimana to two and a half years in prison for an amended charge of reckless homicide, but probated the sentence for three years. He will be out of custody, but could be forced to serve the prison sentence if he violates his probation terms.
Ndagijimana was also convicted of driving under the influence, and was ordered to pay fines, according to the Fayette Commonwealth Attorney’s Office.
Not mentioned in the Lexington Herald-Leader’s story, but included in WKYT-TV’s version, Mr Ndagijimana will have to serve a whopping 30 days in jail.
And that’s it: 30 days behind bars for driving drunk and killing somebody.
But, of course, Mr Ndagijimana did say that he was very, very sorry!
“It is essential to emphasize that Axel has not shied away from his responsibility for the incident,” Clark wrote in a sentencing memorandum. “He stands before this court, acknowledging his error, not seeking to absolve himself of guilt, but pleading guilty to his charge. His acceptance of culpability is a testament to his remorse and personal integrity, even amidst the profound grief and regret that weigh heavily upon him.”
Does that make Mr Hirwa somehow less dead?
Is this justice?
Does giving blacks all kinds of breaks in sentencing when they break the law part of the democrats reparation program?
He’s been on a student visa for a decade?
Is he really, really stupid, or going for multiple doctorates?
But he’s only 21?
Something doesn’t add up here. He “fled” Rwanda in 2013 when he was 11 because of a civil war that had ended in 1994 before he was born, but is in the US on a student visa.
Which part of that makes any sense to anyone?
Honestly, I’m OK with him not being sent to prison to live on our dime for the next 5 or 10 years, but canceling his visa and deporting him seems like a valid minimum sentence.
If his parents were here legally, he would have been allowed to stay legally as a minor. He would have had to apply for another type of visa when he turned 18.
Ahh, that makes sense.
The whole “fleeing civil strife” that ended before he was born still doesn’t track, but I can get the Visa thing now. Thanks.
West High Street, which is one way going from east to west, once you pass Rupp Arena, narrows significantly and quickly as it runs through an old residential area, and there are sometimes cars parked on the street. The street veers to the left near the middle of that residential area, before it descends down to Newtown Pike/Oliver Lewis Way. Any sensible and sober driver takes that slowly.
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