Fresno woman sentenced for fatal drunk driving crash that killed Kerman father
A Fresno woman who was driving drunk on a suspended license when she crashed into and killed a 59-year-old dump truck driver was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison.
Jeffrey Nazaroff of Kerman, a beloved family man and longtime truck driver, was about 1,000 feet away from parking his dump truck at the company yard when Zdeineb Juarez Calderon, 24, ran a stop sign at the intersection of South Brawley and West Church avenues.
Calderon’s Jeep Wrangler smashed into Nazaroff’s truck sending it careening into the front yard of a nearby home and colliding into a tree. Nazaroff, who was at the end of his work day, died at the scene.
Calderon was charged with several felonies and a misdemeanor, including gross vehicular manslaughter, having a blood alcohol level or more than .08% and driving on a suspended or revoked license.
She pleaded no contest to those charges. In a letter read by her public defender Alena Chaps, Calderon said she feels tremendous guilt and shame for what she has done. She realizes that drinking alcohol has ruined her life and cost another person his. She vows to be sober so that she can be a better mother for her son.
“I am trying to make a new path for myself so that I don’t become a statistic,” she wrote in her letter. “My deepest condolences to the family. I just pray Jeff’s family and your honor have mercy.”
Several members of Nazaroff’s family spoke about the type of man he was: loving, honorable and fun-loving. His wife, Janice, said he would joke about how long they have been married, telling people it’s been “33 years of a life sentence.”
She said laughter was part of the glue that kept their marriage strong, even during times of tragedy. The couple, who have three sons, lost their youngest son in car crash 16 years ago.
“And I thought that was the worst thing we could have gone through,” she said. “But we worked through that tragic loss. He (Jeff) was my rock.”
Prosecutor Christopher Moss urged the judge to give Calderon the maximum of 10 years. Moss said the defendant should have realized seven weeks prior to the fatal crash that she needed to stop drinking and driving.
She was involved in a DUI collision on Freeway 99 on Feb. 16, 2022, where her blood alcohol level was nearly four times the legal limit of 0.08%.
“She should have made an adjustment in her life then,” Moss said. “But instead of making a positive decision she doubled down and continued to drink and drive while impaired. And that resulted in the death of Mr. Nazaroff.”
Cullers said Calderon had an opportunity to change her life after her 2022 crash and she missed it.
“Your life could have gone one of two ways,” the judge said. “If you had made a different choice we would not be here.”
Still unresolved is a civil lawsuit filed by the Nazaroff family against Calderon and her former employer Foster Poultry Farms. The company is being sued for negligence and wrongful death.
The lawsuit alleges Calderon, who was an employee of the poultry processing plant, was sent home the day of the fatal crash because she was drunk on the job. She got into her car and drove off the property, crashing a short time later.
