Sacramento Jury Awards $32.16 Million to Children of Man Killed by Off-Duty Police Detective on I-5

In December 2022, Juan Carlos Rodriguez and his brother Lionel Enriquez Rodriguez, 33 and 32 years old respectively, were on the shoulder of Interstate 5 in Sacramento when Lionel's vehicle had broken down. Detective Jonathan Nangle of the Sacramento Police Department was driving an unmarked City vehicle on his way to work. He left his travel lane, crossed the fog line without lights or siren activated, and slammed into the brothers. Both men died at the scene.

Rodriguez left behind two children, ages six and ten at the time of the crash. Their mother, Jessica Romero, brought a wrongful death lawsuit on their behalf against the City of Sacramento. The City admitted liability for the motor vehicle accident, meaning trial focused on the measure of damages owed to the children for the loss of their father.

Attorneys John Demas and Tim Spangler of Demas Law Group, P.C. presented the jury with evidence that included testimony from three witnesses, 70 photographs, and 15 video clips, among them dashcam footage from a passing tanker truck that recorded the collision. The trial record made plain that Nangle had given no warning before striking the disabled vehicle.

The jury deliberated just over one hour before returning a unanimous verdict of $32.16 million. The award included $2.1 million in economic damages and $15 million per child for non-economic losses. John Demas stated at the time that the verdict was believed to be the largest wrongful death award the City of Sacramento had ever been required to pay, surpassing a prior $9.75 million settlement from 2017.

On the criminal side, Nangle faced two misdemeanor counts of vehicular manslaughter. A warrant was issued in September 2023 and he turned himself in. He later pleaded guilty to both counts and in February 2025 was sentenced to 120 days in jail, with the option to serve the time through community service. No reduction or remittitur of the civil verdict has been reported.