RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The man who got behind the wheel while high on heroin and caused a multiple-car crash on Thanksgiving Day 2020 that killed two people and seriously injured another has now been sentenced to 25 years in prison.
On Thursday, July 27, a Richmond Circuit Court judge sentenced Ryan Daniels to 25 years in prison, according to a Nextdoor post shared by Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette McEachin’s office.
On Nov. 26, 2020 — Thanksgiving Day — around 8 p.m., Daniels ran through a red light on Brookland Park Boulevard in the Ginter Park Terrace area and smashed into two cars, which caused a chain reaction crash on Chamberlayne Avenue that involved six cars.
The crash killed 58-year-old Kevin Hancock and 52-year-old Karen Murphy. Eddie Hancock, Kevin Hancock’s brother, was also seriously injured in the crash.
During a hearing in May 2021, a witness at the scene shared that when Daniels became conscious after the crash, he said “I’m on heroin. I OD’d (overdosed).”
Richmond Police also discovered that Daniels was driving nearly twice the speed limit and did not brake before he crashed.
In May 2023, Daniels pled guilty to two counts of felony manslaughter, a felony count of driving while intoxicated with serious injury and a misdemeanor count of driving while intoxicated in connection to the crash.
McEachin’s office shared that the judge announced the sentence after over two hours of “heart-wrenching testimony” from Hancock and Murphy’s families.
Hannock was a Richmond youth football coach for over three decades.
Family and friends remembered Murphy for her love of crafts, particularly crochet and jewelry making. She left behind five children and one grandchild, with another on the way at the time of her death.
