Stoned driver gets 16 years for slamming into cafe
By Greg Moran
12:08 p.m., May 4, 2011
SAN DIEGO — A judge sentenced a San Diego man with a criminal record stretching back to the early 1960s to 16 years and eight months in jail for driving while under the influence of marijuana and injuring four people in August.
Ronald Troyer, 66, was driving on La Jolla Boulevard near Midway Street on Aug. 13 when witnesses said he began swerving and lost control. He struck three teens who were walking down La Jolla Boulevard, then slammed into the Cass Street Cafe & Bakery.
The teens suffered several injuries, including broken bones. A patron at the cafe was also injured.
Troyer tried to walk away from the crash scene but bystanders kept him at the crash site until police arrived. A blood test taken after the crash showed he had marijuana in his system.
He was convicted by a jury on April 6 of reckless driving, driving on a suspended license, hit and run, and driving under the influence of marijuana causing injury.
San Diego Superior Court Judge William Kronberger Jr. sentenced Troyer to the maximum sentence. The judge said that the crash capped a “lifetime of bad decision making” by Troyer, which he detailed by reciting aloud the 20 different arrests Troyer has had since 1963.
They include a half dozen drunken driving charges, as well as numerous instances of reckless driving and driving without a license. The list also includes serious felonies such as being a felon in possession of a firearm and having sex with someone under 18 years old.
Troyer apologized in court for the injuries and said he hoped the victims could fully recover. At the trial, his lawyer argued that Troyer was not under the influence but suffered a seizure or a blackout that caused the crash.
greg.moran@uniontrib.com • (619) 293-1236 • Twitter @gregmoran
