BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The adult son of U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer is expected to change his plea Friday in connection with a fatal car crash that killed a North Dakota sheriff’s deputy last year.
Ian Cramer, 43, was charged with manslaughter while fleeing a police officer, evading apprehension, reckless endangerment, fleeing a police officer, drug and traffic offenses in the Dec. 6, 2023, chase and crash that left 53-year-old Mercer County Sheriff’s Deputy Paul Martin dead.
Cramer was initially charged with manslaughter, but the charge was later upgraded to manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and/or a $20,000 fine. In April, Cramer pleaded not guilty.
A notice filed Wednesday indicated the change in his plea, but details were not provided in court records.
Cramer is the son of Kevin Cramer, a Republican running for his second term in the Senate. He said his son “suffers from severe mental disorders that manifest as severe paranoia and hallucinations.”
Before the crash last December, Bismarck police had taken Ian Cramer’s mother to a hospital for mental health issues. According to court documents, he crawled into the driver’s seat of his parents’ car after his mother got out and then backed up, crashing through a closed garage door into the hospital’s ambulance bay. He later fled from police officers when one stopped him in Hazen, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) from Bismarck, court documents show.
Cramer reached speeds of over 100 mph and continued driving even after a device fitted with nails flattened two tires, court documents show. More nails were installed, Cramer swerved and crashed head-on into Martin’s patrol car, which was thrown about 100 feet, authorities said. Martin was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
In March, Ian Cramer pleaded not guilty to charges of theft, criminal damage and reckless endangerment in connection with the incidents at the hospital. A jury trial was scheduled for November.
Cramer is being held at the McLean County Jail in Washburn on $500,000 bail.
