The Abridged version:
- In December 2022, two brothers were killed in a traffic collision involving a detective with the Sacramento Police Department.
- A jury this week awarded $32.1 million in damages to the two children of one of the men, Juan Carlos Rodriguez, who was killed in the collision.
- The judgment is one of the largest the city of Sacramento has seen in recent memory.
The city of Sacramento will pay $32.1 million to the children of a Sacramento man killed in a collision involving a Sacramento Police Department detective, a jury decided this week.
In December 2022, two brothers were standing near their stalled truck in the shoulder of Interstate 5 and Sutterville Road when they were hit by an unmarked Sacramento police vehicle, court documents describe. The collision killed both Juan Carlos Rodriguez, 33, and Lionel Rodriguez, 32.
Detective sentenced to 120 days
The two men were struck by Detective Jonathan Nangle, whose vehicle drifted over the solid white line, without lights or a siren sounding, court documents state. Nangle was eventually found guilty of two counts of vehicular manslaughter and sentenced to 120 days in the Sacramento County Jail, the Sacramento Bee reported.
The recent jury award comes at the close of a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Juan Carlos Rodriguez’s family in 2023 in Sacramento County Superior Court.
Surviving children each awarded $15 million
On Tuesday, a Sacramento County jury arrived at a special verdict and awarded $2.1 million in economic damages to his two children, a young boy and a young girl. The jury award also includes $15 million for each child for the loss of their father’s “love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society, moral support, training and guidance,” court documents state.
A judgment for the case, including the $32.1 million jury award, was submitted by Judge Julie Weng-Gutierrez on Thursday.
City remains ‘deeply saddened’ by deaths
“This case involves a profound tragedy, and the city remains deeply saddened by the loss of a father and the impact on his two children,” Gabby Miller, spokesperson for the city of Sacramento, said in a written statement.
“Because the city accepted responsibility and admitted liability in this motor vehicle accident, the role of the jury was specifically to exercise its duty within the judicial system to provide an award of just and fair compensation,” Miller said. “The jury has now discharged that duty. We respect the judicial process and the service of the members of the jury.”
Representatives from the Sacramento Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Judgment against city largest in recent memory
The lawsuit judgment is the largest against the Sacramento Police Department in recent memory. In 2017, the city paid $9.75 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit following a collision where a police officer rear-ended a vehicle and killed a 9-month-old child. The city also paid $4.1 million to the family and children of Stephon Clark, who was shot to death by Sacramento police in 2018.
Felicia Alvarez is a reporter at Abridged covering accountability. She’s called Sacramento home since 2015 and has reported on government, health care and breaking news topics for both local and national news outlets.