Plains Family Thinks Charges Are Too Small

The parents of a 2-year-old boy who was struck and killed by a pickup truck expressed relief over learning the driver was charged with involuntary manslaughter and driving under the influence. But Lance Cleveland, grandfather of 2-year-old Konner Wilkerson, doesn’t think the charges filed against the driver, 59-year-old John Lawrence Ranals of Florence, Colo., are severe enough. "The DA told me he could get 41 months," Cleveland said Monday. "That’s less than four years, and we have a lifetime without Konner." Konner, the son of Bridgett Wilkerson and Jose Garcia, died Aug. 10, three days after his second birthday. He was the couple’s only child, Cleveland said. "His birthday party was the next day," Cleveland recalled. According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, Konner was killed at 401 Erie St. when he ran into the street and was hit by Ranals’ 2001 Ford pickup. Ranals was not injured. Ranals has been charged with involuntary manslaughter while driving under the influence, DUI, driving in violation of a driver’s license restriction and driving without proof of liability insurance, Meade County Attorney Laura Lewis confirmed. The complaint filed Aug. 14 indicates Ranals’ blood-alcohol content was 0.091. It is illegal in Kansas to drive with a blood-alcohol content of more than 0.08. At the time of the accident, Ranals was not wearing either glasses or contact lenses as specified in his driver’s license restriction, the charges allege. He has posted $50,000 bond to be released from jail, Lewis said. Read more: http://www.gctelegram.com/news/HUTCH-KS-Plains-Death-Charges-82212#ixzz24HZbrhr3