Murderer faces life in prison for DUI collision

A Santa Ana man who killed a Corona del Mar man in a 2006 drunk-driving accident and then ran from the scene, leaving a friend’s 10-year-old daughter behind in the car, was convicted of murder Thursday, prosecutors said.

Luis Ramirez, 34, faces 16 years and four months to life in prison on charges of murdering Timothy Lysgaard, 45. Ramirez’s blood-alcohol content was .23, nearly three times higher than the legal limit, when he drove on Ortega Highway with his friend and his friend’s 10-year-old daughter, according to prosecutors.

At about 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 5, 2006, Ramirez swerved onto the right shoulder on Ortega Highway then swerved left into oncoming traffic, hitting Lysgaard on his motorcycle head-on and killing him instantly, prosecutors said.

Ramirez’s car careened over a 150-foot embankment, prosecutors said. After taking some beer cans out of the car, Ramirez ran away and tried to hitchhike, according to prosecutors. Ramirez will be sentenced May 23 at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana.

— Joseph Serna