A man charged with causing a fatal car crash in 2019 was sentenced to serve at least 12 and a half years in prison, the Mecklenburg District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday.
Prosecutors alleged that Dang Ngo, now 42, was speeding and intoxicated when he crashed into a car carrying five people, killing one and leaving a 15-year-old girl paralyzed from the chest down.
On Monday, just as his trial was about to start, Ngo pled guilty to all charges – second-degree murder, felony death by vehicle, two counts of felony serious injury by vehicle, and reckless driving.
After hearing from victims who survived the crash, Superior Court Judge Louis A. Trosch Jr. sentenced Ngo to serve 150 to 192 months in prison.
The collision happened on Aug. 25 on East Independence Boulevard near Sardis Road North around 2 a.m.
Prosecutors alleged that Ngo was driving his BMW M5 at 128 mph in a 45 mph zone just before the collision. He was still traveling at 103 mph when he slammed into the back of a Toyota Camry carrying five people, the D.A.’s office said.
Ngo’s blood alcohol level was reported to be 0.12. (In North Carolina, it is illegal to drive a vehicle while noticeably impaired or with an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or higher.)
Carlos Santiago-Luna, 21, died from injuries sustained in the crash. The other victims “continue to deal with the medical ramifications of those injuries,” the D.A.’s office said in announcing Ngo’s guilty plea.
