Fleeing in a car, Randy Ralstin killed an innocent driver in 1999.
That should have disqualified him from receiving a driver’s license for a very long period of time. But Ralstin got a license on the day he was paroled after serving seven years in prison.
Now authorities have charged him with causing two more traffic deaths. Police say Ralstin, 42, was driving the speeding pickup truck that crashed into a car Monday night. Tiffany A. Berry, 33, and her 12-year-old daughter, Suavae Rouser, were killed.
Both tragic episodes began when police officers attempted to stop a vehicle for traffic violations. In both cases, authorities say, the driver sped off.
Obviously, people without a valid driver’s license can still get behind the wheel and drive with criminal recklessness.
But the new charges against Ralstin are made more galling by the ease with which he obtained a license. His deplorable driving record was wiped clean while he served time for involuntary manslaughter.
As Jackson County Prosecutor James Kanatzer noted, people who commit violent crimes with guns disqualify themselves from receiving gun permits. The same should be true of people who commit violent crimes with vehicles.
Kanatzer vows to seek state legislation to make it harder for persons who cause vehicular homicides to obtain licenses after prison.
He and lawmakers should follow through on that change.
