CLEVELAND — A Brook Park man learned his sentence after causing a fatal crash in Cleveland that took the life of a 28-year-old woman while fleeing from Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers in a stolen BMW.
Raymond Francis was sentenced to 22 to 27.5 years of prison time and received a class one lifetime suspension of his driver's license.
The incident happened on Aug. 27, 2022, when troopers pulled over a 2016 BMW 435 series on Clark Avenue near West 58th Street and Storer Avenue after a check of the vehicle's registration showed the car stolen out of a Strongsville dealership.
The driver, Francis, ran from law enforcement and weaved through 17 blocks of traffic before crashing into a Toyota Scion and ultimately slamming into a house near the intersection of West 41st Street and Trowbridge Avenue.
28-year-old Annelisa Endress of Cleveland passed away at a hospital as a result of the crash. She suffered serious injuries when her Toyota Scion was struck by the BMW.
The full sentencing can be watched below:
“This individual took my sister's life and I will never be able to grow old with my sister, see my sister walk down the aisle, or become a great mother. I will never be able to see her open her food truck or restaurant. I will never be able to go out to eat, travel or sing our favorite songs together,” said Angelina Endres, the sister of the victim.
In May, Francis pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, grand theft and failure to comply.
“This is probably one of the hardest sentencing hearings that I have had to go through. It is devastating. Parents aren’t supposed to bury their children. They just aren’t supposed to. It goes against every law of nature and I am sorry. Your sister, your sibling relationships are supposed to be the longest relationships you have in your life and you were robbed of that. I am so sorry,” said Judge Shannon Gallagher.
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