PRESS RELEASE
County of Siskiyou District Attorneys’ Office
On March 8, 2023, in Siskiyou County Superior Court, Jaden Hunter Quiring, 19, pled
guilty to Gross Vehicular Manslaughter while Intoxicated, a felony, and Driving Under the
Influence of Alcohol Causing Injury, a felony. He faces up to 10 years in State Prison. When he
pled guilty he was out of custody, having been released on bail soon after his arrest. The court
scheduled his sentencing hearing for May 17, 2023.
On June 29-30, 2022, Quiring was 18 years old. On the evening of the 29th he chose to drink
alcohol at a friend’s home in McCloud, CA, with other underaged persons. Some of these friends
were juveniles. After an evening of heavy drinking Quiring gave a friend a ride home with other
passengers in his car. He successfully made this trip, and then returned back to the home where
the others were still drinking. He left again at about 2:00 a.m. carrying two passengers. He made
it to the home of one passenger, a juvenile. Tragically, the other passenger, Steven Ramos Jr., 20,
did not make it home.
While driving on Highway 89 outside of McCloud, Quiring embodied the danger of an
intoxicated driver. Traveling well above the speed limit, Quiring tried to pass a vehicle in front
of him. He swerved to the left, crossing double yellow lines. After passing the vehicle he
attempted to merge back into the correct lane, but lost control of his car and slammed into a tree.
The motorist who was driving the vehicle that Quiring had passed stopped to help. He was able
to cut Quiring’s seatbelt as the car was burning and pull him out of the car with the assistance of
another passing driver. Mr. Ramos was killed due to the impact ofthe crash. The California
Highway Patrol investigated the case.
District Attorney Kirk Andrus noted the incredible tragedy of losing a young person to a
completely preventable crime. “It isn’t difficult for any thinking person to know that they cannot
drive a vehicle while under the influence. It seems that every group ofyoung people must learn
this by sad experience. So many recently have died under these circumstances, but the criminal
justice system becomes involved when a driver survives, as Jaden Quiring did. We hope that the
lessons learned from Mr. Ramos’ death save the lives of other young people moving forward.”
