Death
On December 15, 2003, Rob Ramage was driving Magnuson to an NHLPA players' alumni meeting when his rented Chrysler Intrepid swerved into the oncoming lane and collided with another vehicle, killing Magnuson and injuring the driver of the other vehicle. Ramage was charged with impaired driving causing death and dangerous driving causing death. Defense lawyer Brian Greenspan claimed the blood and urine tests were flawed, and the smell of alcohol came from beer cans that exploded after the crash.
On October 10, 2007, Ramage was found guilty on all counts. The Magnuson family had forgiven Ramage and urged the judge not to send him to prison, instead suggesting that Ramage speak to teens about the dangers of drinking and driving. On December 3, 2007, in a Missouri civil suit, Ramage and National Car Rental of Canada were found liable for the death of Magnuson. The family of Magnuson was awarded $9.5 million. On January 17, 2008, Ramage was sentenced to four years in prison. Legal experts described the sentence as the harshest ever handed out in Ontario to a motorist with no previous record for drinking and driving. Ramage remained free on bail until his appeal of the sentence was denied on July 12, 2010.
On November 12, 2008, the Chicago Blackhawks retired Magnuson's number 3, along with that of Hall of Fame defenseman Pierre Pilote, before a game against the Boston Bruins.
Read more about this topic: Keith Magnuson
Famous quotes containing the word death:
“I admit that the generation which produced Stalin, Auschwitz and Hiroshima will take some beating; but the radical and universal consciousness of the death of God is still ahead of us; perhaps we shall have to colonize the stars before it is finally borne in upon us that God is not out there.”
—R.J. Hollingdale (b. 1930)
“We all labour against our own cure, for death is the cure of all diseases.”
—Thomas Browne (1605–1682)