An Oak Park man who killed an elderly couple while speeding through an intersection has been sentenced to one year in local jail, according to Ventura County Superior Court records.
Neil Liam Reb, 22, previously pleaded guilty to two counts of felony gross vehicular manslaughter in connection to the deaths of Alejandro and Maria Ramirez, according to court records. He also admitted the special allegation that the crime was a serious felony.
Though Reb faced a maximum allowable sentence of seven years and four months in state prison, Ventura County Superior Court Judge Dusty Kawai — over the objection of the prosecution — imposed a sentence of 365 days in local jail followed by 24 months of probation, court records for the Oct. 9 hearing show.
“A maximum sentence of 365 days in county jail is devastating to our family,” one of the couple’s daughters told the judge during her victim impact statement, according to a news release from the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office. “My parents were worth infinitely more than that. Their lives mattered.”
Around 4 p.m. May 6, 2025, Reb was driving his Jeep Wrangler 89 mph on Via Las Brisas in Newbury Park — which has a posted speed limit of 45 mph — when he collided into the couples’ Volkswagen Tiguan at the intersection with Calle Del Prado, according to authorities. The Ramirezes were pronounced dead at the scene.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office investigators arrested Reb on June 30, 2025.
Court records show he initially pleaded not guilty to both counts of vehicular manslaughter.
The DA’s office was seeking three years and four months in state prison for the guilty pleas to both counts prior to a trial, according to the agency’s news release.
“A one-year county jail sentence for taking the lives of Alejandro and Maria Ramirez is inconsistent with the gross negligence of the crime,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Paul Nuñez said in the release.
The online obituary for the couple states that Alejandro Ramirez, 77, and Maria Ramirez, 73, were married for 53 years and raised five children together; they moved to the Dos Vientos neighborhood, where the crash occurred, to be closer to their children and grandchildren.
“There was no time to comfort them, hold their hand, to say goodbye, see them or tell them I love them one last time. Those moments were taken from us,” one of the daughters told the judge, according to the DA’s news release.
Makena Huey is an investigative and watchdog reporter for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at makena.huey@vcstar.com. This story was made possible by a grant from the Ventura County Community Foundation's Fund to Support Local Journalism. The foundation plays no role in story selection. The Star retains full editorial control.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Oak Park man sentenced for crash that killed Newbury Park couple
