Month: June 2026

By Ana Torrea

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    FRESNO, California (KFSN) — A Fresno County judge sentenced a Tuolumne County cardiologist Wednesday to eight months in jail for a deadly hit-and-run crash that killed an aspiring nurse from Reedley.

Dr. James Comazzi was taken into custody in a Fresno County courtroom as loved ones of Juliana Ramos delivered emotional statements about the lasting impact of her death. Ramos was killed five years ago, just two days before her birthday, leaving behind three children.

In court, Ramos’ family described the loss as devastating.

“My grandma lost her daughter, my mom, aunts, and uncles lost her sister. My cousin lost an aunt and I lost a best friend. But most importantly, her kids lost their mother at a very young age,” said Ivette Lopez, Ramos’ niece.

Comazzi also addressed the court and Ramos’ family, acknowledging the harm caused by his actions.

“No words can undo the past or fix the profound brokenness caused by my actions,” Comazzi said.

The incident occurred in February 2021 when Ramos had pulled over near Manning Avenue to help a crash victim. According to the California Highway Patrol, she was struck and killed. Authorities said the driver got out of the car briefly before getting back in and leaving the scene.

“What kind of doctor in any specialty does that? He managed to get away with it for eight months. Did he have any remorse? Did he think about the pain he had caused for my family?” Lopez said.

Investigators later identified Comazzi on Sonora through an anonymous tip after a months-long search.

During sentencing, Fresno County Superior Court Judge Geoffrey D. Wilson noted that the case could have been handled differently had the driver remained at the scene.

“Had he stuck around at that point, had he stayed, this case at all, would’ve been brought as a misdemeanor,” Wilson said.

Comazzi previously pleaded no contest in March to felony hit-and-run and misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charges. On Wednesday, Wilson sentenced him to eight months in custody.

“You are committed to the custody of the sheriff for eight months. With credit for two conduct credits,” Wilson said.

Despite the sentencing, Ramos’ family said the punishment does not match the magnitude of their loss.

“I believe that Mr. Comazzi does not deserve the sentence of probation with up to a year in jail. That decision was set to be based on his age and lack of criminal record. But what about Juli? Did her age not matter? She had no criminal record. She was going to school to become a CNA,” Lopez said.

Once released from custody, Comazzi will be placed on probation and will be required to check in with a probation officer.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Karson Wells

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    SAN LUIS OBISPO, California (KSBY) — A decades-old oak tree at the corner of Nipomo and Monterey streets in downtown San Luis Obispo is approved for removal to make way for the new SLO Rep Theater and the community is pushing back.

Initial plans approved in 2019 for the theater outlined preserving the tree, but after an arborist’s analysis was requested in 2025, SLO Rep says keeping it would not be viable.

In a statement, SLO Rep said, “Both our arborist and the City’s arborist concluded that the probability of the tree surviving any major construction is extremely low, unless changes are made to the building’s footprint. However, it’s also unlikely any change to the footprint would ensure the tree’s survival and, importantly, any significant change would reduce the size of the theater to a point where the theater would no longer be economically viable.”

The removal was approved 4-1 at the Feb. 3 City Council meeting. The sole no vote came from Jan Marx, who said at the meeting she felt the city failed.

City staff pointed to changes in best practice and science that led to the unexpected removal, adding that changes have since been made to their policies to avoid a similar situation in the future.

Community members say the decision feels like a broken promise.

“To me, it feels like a huge betrayal of a promise,” said Joan Judson, a 27-year San Luis Obispo resident.

“Both the city and SLO Rep have told us that, you know, we consider this matter closed,” said Bruce Judson, also a 27-year San Luis Obispo resident.

Some residents say the burden of adjustment should fall on the theater’s design, not the tree.

“If we have to do something about the theater, then let’s make the adjustment on the theater’s end, rather than on the tree’s end,” said Fitzgerald Kelly, a 12-year San Luis Obispo resident.

Kelly said the shift in priorities has been disheartening.

“The priority has switched from saving things to yeah, we’re expendable,” Kelly said.

SLO Rep says five trees will be planted to supplement the loss, but residents say that falls short.

“To say that sounds too pat, it sounds too easy, too simplified. We’re just going to plant new trees and like, let it go. Just let this go. You know, we’re going to put in other trees and it’s going to take another 80 years for them to start to look like this,” Joan Judson said.

Over the last week, community members have been posting notes in favor of the tree and placing signage on the surrounding green fence. Those notes have since been removed. Confirmation is still pending on who removed them.

SLO Rep confirmed over email that no set date has been scheduled for the removal.

For now, residents remain hopeful they can reverse the decision.

“I really think we can do this differently and we can keep our original promise to the tree,” Joan Judson said.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Kate Devine

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    MARION COUNTY, Kansas (KAKE) — Severe storms that swept through Marion County Monday night left behind damaged buildings, downed trees and widespread power outages. For one family, however, the storm also brought a heartbreaking personal loss.

Veronica DeSelms said her family’s horse, Puddin, was killed when a barn collapsed during the storm.

DeSelms said she received a warning from a friend before the severe weather arrived.

“She was giving us a heads up that storms in our area were going to be pretty bad,” DeSelms said. “She actually told us to treat it like a tornado because the wind speeds were going to be so high.”

After the storm passed, DeSelms and her family began checking the damage around their property.

“First thing I saw was the roof on the ground, which immediately made me realize that something was probably terribly wrong,” she said.

She then went looking for Puddin.

“I was actually just hoping I’d see her running out in the pasture somewhere or making noise,” DeSelms said.

Instead, she found the barn had collapsed.

“I noticed that the wall had collapsed, and you could see part of her because the rest of her was under the barn,” she said.

According to Marion County Emergency Management, there were 30 reports of storm damage as of Tuesday evening. Most of the damage was concentrated in a five-mile stretch of northern Marion County, including Durham, Tampa, Ramona, Lost Springs and Lincolnville. Officials also reported downed trees, damaged roofs, power outages and a confirmed 90 mph wind gust near Lincolnville.

For the DeSelms family, Puddin was much more than a horse.

“She was my husband’s first horse that he bought with his own money after he started college,” DeSelms said. “He raised her all on his own and trained her. Then when we had our daughter, she helped raise her.”

The horse became a constant companion for the family’s daughter, Clara.

“They grew up together,” DeSelms said. “She was our family horse.” Puddin was 23 years old.

The loss comes just months after the family lost another horse, Scotch.

“We lost our older horse in January of this year as well, so it’s a pretty devastating loss,” DeSelms said.

“We buried Scotch in January, and now Puddin is buried right next to her,” DeSelms said.

DeSelms said she finds comfort in believing the two horses are together again.

“We’ve had a lot of animal losses over the last year, and I guess I just find comfort that they are together,” DeSelms said. “And she’s just enjoying being with her buddy again.”

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Kate Devine

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    WICHITA, Kansas (KAKE) — A Kansas family is sharing their story in hopes of raising awareness about tick-borne illnesses after a 25-year-old man developed a severe case of Rocky Mountain spotted fever that left him hospitalized, in a coma and facing a lengthy recovery.

Jennifer Vasquez said her fiancé, Reuben Terrell, was healthy and active before becoming sick in July 2025. Terrell had recently opened a tire shop with his father and was preparing to welcome his first child.

“My 25-year-old fiancé went from just a normal, independent individual to a coma and disabled in a matter of 72 hours,” Vasquez said.

According to Vasquez, Terrell first began showing symptoms on July 18.

“We weren’t aware that he had gotten bit by a tick. It was just a normal weekend for us,” she said. “The first day, he slept all day. That’s not like him. He’s very outgoing and loves to be outside and on the go.”

She said his condition worsened over the next two days.

“He’s in the house trying to walk, and he’s just stumbling, hitting his head on the walls, falling down to the floor and could not get up at all,” Vasquez said. “I just knew something was wrong.”

The family eventually took Terrell to the hospital. Doctors initially suspected meningitis and admitted him for further testing.

Vasquez said the situation quickly became more serious.

“They put him in ICU, and in the midst of us just trying to catch a break and finally go get food, I got a call from the charge nurse in ICU,” she said. “He said, ‘Hey, we just had to put Reuben in a medically induced coma. He just had a seizure.’”

After days of testing, doctors diagnosed Terrell with Rocky Mountain spotted fever, a bacterial disease spread through the bite of an infected tick.

“They stated that this comes from a tick bite,” Vasquez said. “In his case, they described how it infected his brain, his spine and went all throughout his body.”

Vasquez said neither she nor doctors were able to identify a tick bite or the rash commonly associated with the disease.

“There was no known tick bite on him,” she said. “We had the doctors look at his whole body, and they couldn’t find anything either.”

While Terrell remained hospitalized, Vasquez gave birth to the couple’s daughter, Zendaya.

“After Reuben went into a coma on July 21, I had my daughter Zendaya on Aug. 7,” Vasquez said. “He missed the birth, but we had the baby in the same hospital, so I felt a bit better.”

According to Vasquez, Terrell remained in a medically induced coma for two weeks before slipping into what doctors described as a natural coma.

“They came in and said, ‘He’s now in his own natural coma, and you guys are not going to get the Reuben that you once had before,’” she said.

Today, Terrell is continuing his recovery through rehabilitation in Gardner, Kansas.

“As of right now, we had to get him moved over to Meadowbrook Rehabilitation Hospital in Gardner, Kansas,” Vasquez said. “He can’t feel from mid-chest down. He’s wheelchair-bound. He no longer has the trach in, so that’s a good step for him. He’s starting to move his arms a bit more, and just this week he progressed a bit and was able to start pushing himself in the wheelchair.”

Vasquez said the family is sharing Terrell’s story to encourage others to take tick-borne illnesses seriously.

“Take it very seriously, because we think it couldn’t happen to us, and it did,” she said. “It causes severe damage throughout the whole body.”

The family said they remain hopeful as Terrell continues rehabilitation and works toward regaining more independence.

Health officials recommend checking for ticks after spending time outdoors, using insect repellent and seeking medical attention for flu-like symptoms that develop after possible tick exposure. Early treatment is critical because Rocky Mountain spotted fever can become severe if left untreated.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Michaela Springer

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    FRANKFORT, Indiana (WISH) — A K-9 handler with the Frankfort Police Department has been charged after being accused of interacting with his K-9 partner cruelly.

The Boone County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday that Ethan Cunningham, 24, faces charges of official misconduct and animal cruelty.

The investigation into Cunningham started in March after the Lebanon Police Department received an animal abuse complaint.

When speaking with the complainant, they learned the person watched Cunningham interact with his K-9, Taz, in a way that they believed was “cruel and unnecessary.”

The complainant also shared videos of the interaction, police said.

At the time, Frankfort police said K-9 Taz had no visible injuries, and was going to be in the care of a company specializing in police K-9s during the investigation.

Police eventually passed off the investigation to the Boone County Sheriff’s Office due to a conflict of interest. Detectives then conducted multiple interviews, reviewed videos, and obtained records, which soon led to the criminal charges against Cunningham.

Cunningham was listed as an inmate at the Boone County Jail as of Friday morning.

A court date has not been set.

Crime Resources Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana: 317-262-8477 P3tips app | Apple devices | Google Play

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.