Driver charged in death of 26-year-old nurse on Fresno highway may serve only 1 year
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- 72-year-old cardiologist pleads no contest to fatal 2021 hit-and-run case.
- Prosecutors and defense agree plea after judge indicated one-year jail likely.
- Sentencing set for June 10; victim’s friends and family expected to attend.
A 72-year-old cardiologist from Sonora may serve only one year in jail plus probation for the 2021 crash that killed a 26-year-old nurse from Reedley on Highway 99 .
Dr. James Comazzi was in Fresno County Superior Court on Monday for what was supposed to be the continuation of his preliminary hearing. But instead Comazzi agreed to plead no contest to one count of hit and run resulting in permanent injury or death and vehicular manslaugther without gross negligence.
Comazzi is accused of hitting and killing Juliana Ramos of Reedley on Feb. 10, 2021 at about 12:30 a.m. as she was helping the victim of a crash on northbound Highway 99 near the Manning Avenue exit.
Ramos was in a vehicle with three others travelling north on 99 when they came upon debris in the road from a collision that had just happened.
The driver pulled over near the center median and Ramos and the driver got out and began rendering emergency care at the scene, according to a civil lawsuit filed by the driver and two other passengers in the car.
Not far behind, was Comazzi. He was driving a 2017 Ford Explorer, California license number BSTILLL, heading north on 99 at a high rate of speed, according to the lawsuit.
It is alleged Comazzi failed to see the cars and pedestrians and stuck them.
Jeff Hammerschmidt, Comazzi’s lawyer, said after Monday’s hearing that his client remembers hitting a guardrail, but not a person. However, he did stop and get out of his vehicle and he saw Ramos on the ground.
Comazzi left the scene of the crash before law enforcement arrived. It took investigators eight months to locate him and charge him .
Hammerschmidt said that based on the first day of testimony in Comazzi’s preliminary hearing, Judge Geoffrey Wilson provided an indicated sentence of probation with up to a year in jail. Comazzi agreed.
Hammerschmidt said the judge took into consideration Comazzi’s age and his lack of a criminal record when arriving at his possible sentence.
Had the case gone to trial and Comazzi was found guilty on all charges he could have been sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison.
Comazzi will return to court for sentencing June 10. Also expected to attend will be friends and family of Ramos.
This story was originally published March 23, 2026 at 4:38 PM.
