Randall Rolison
The Jamestown man charged in two fatal crashes has pleaded guilty in Chautauqua County Court.
District Attorney Jason Schmidt announced that 60-year old Randall Rolison pled guilty to Second Degree Manslaughter for the vehicular fatality that took the life of 15-year old Lexy Hughan on December 31, 2021 in Jamestown. He also pled guilty to Aggravated Vehicular Homicide for the vehicular fatality in Arkwright that resulted in the death of 71-year old Linda Kraemer of South Dayton.
Rolison will be sentenced on August 28 and faces a total of 13 1/3 to 40 years in prison.
Schmidt said the pending weapons possession charges were dismissed as part of the plea deal.
He said the plea came following consultation with the Hughan and Kraemer families.
Lexy Hughan’s mother, Sara Rafaloski, expressed her relief that the court case is over, “And I’m really glad that it’s over. I’m glad that I don’t have to sit through any grueling details of any case stuff that nobody needs to hear. No fighting over something that obviously happened that’s obviously his fault. It’s all done and over. I’m much happier about that.”
A bench and picnic table dedication was held Saturday morning at Dow Park in Jamestown that memorializes Lexy Hughan.
Melissa Paterniti, who fundraised the money for the bench and table, said a roadside memorial had initially gone up near the site where Lexy had died, “And things on the side of the road had kind of started to get dusty and dirty. And people were saying stuff about it and I thought, ‘How can I help? How can I help this little girl have a beautiful memorial somewhere in the city of Jamestown to come and visit and celebrate her life?'”
Friends and Family cut the ribbon on a bench installed in memory of Lexy Hughan in Dow Park (June 10, 2023)
Rafaloski said it was amazing to have the community to come together to create the memorial. The dedication coincided with the start of the Jamestown Pride Festival, something she said Lexy would have been really happy about.
This sub human that plowed that child over and killed another woman less than a year later could only get 14 years?! The person’s responsible for his release after he tore that little girl up should have to answer for their decision to release him to kill again. Pathetic use of their power.
The sentence does not justify his sins. That man should NEVER EVER be allowed to drive again. REVOKE HIS LICENSE. Place him on house arrest for the rest of his life. He’s a piece of garbage, but I don’t want my tax money paying for food and q”room and board” while he picks his nose in a jail cell. “Hammer Lane” is a truck store but it also means the “fast” lane, or the lane where you “put the hammer down”. It’s insulting to see him wear this shirt, where his own CARELESSNESS has taken two lives.