A judge in New London on Monday sentenced a New Britain man with a history of drunken driving arrests to 12 years in prison in connection with a hit-and-run in downtown Mystic in 2019 that seriously injured a 28-year-old woman.
Ryan Ragalis, 29, had been convicted at trial earlier this year of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, second-degree assault with a motor vehicle and second-degree assault.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant State’s Attorney David Smith, who said Ragalis has been arrested at least five times before for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Police said Ragalis’ license was suspended and his blood alcohol level was .27, or more than three times the legal limit of .08, shortly after midnight on June 16, 2019 when his vehicle struck 28-year-old Bethany Billing of Mystic as she walked across Water Street near the Pizzetta restaurant.
Witnesses said Ragalis’ vehicle never slowed after he struck Billing and sped from the scene. He was followed by a witness who called 911 and followed Ragalis into Stonington, where Ragalis crashed into a tree on Cove Road.
Billing suffered a laceration to her head, a severe concussion, several fractured vertebra, a fractured sacrum, broken pelvis, broken nose and cuts and abrasions.
In addition to 12 years in prison, Judge Kevin Murphy sentenced Ragalis to five years of probation. Ragalis still has another drunken driving case pending in Middletown from an arrest 10 days before the Mystic incident.