Tense Hearing Pushes Trial Closer for Driver in Fatal Car Crash

Ten months after he at Bake Parkway, the man charged with vehicular manslaughter in the Lake Forest death of a young woman is moving closer to trial.

Jose Javier Fernandez Ramirez, 20, appeared in a tense Newport Beach courtroom Monday. During an afternoon hearing, attorneys set the date of Nov. 21 for a preliminary hearing, at which time a judge will determine if there is enough evidence for a trial.

The San Clemente man was was arrested in May after a four-month investigation into a crash Jan. 14 at the intersection of Bake and North Pointe Drive. Investigators said Ramirez fatally smashed into .

Ramirez escaped without injury, but could face six years behind bars if convicted of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence for allegedly running a "solid red light," the District Attorney's Office said.

On Monday, Orange County Superior Court Judge Stephanie George urged attorneys on both sides to bring forward witnesses to the January crash at the next hearing, saying that it will have no value without eye-witness testimony.

"Without that, we're just guessing [what happened]," George said emphatically.

Before the hearing began, palpable tension filled the courtroom. 

Family and friends of the Davenports and Ramirezes sat on opposing sides of the courtroom, glaring and whispering to one another. Jose Javier Fernandez sat among them, out on bond. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

At one point, a court bailiff requested that the groups keep their eyes facing forward.

Also at the hearing, prosecutors brought an additional charge against Ramirez for allegedly traveling at an unsafe speed before the crash. Ramirez' attorney, Stephen Michael Rios, said the addition was expected and wouldn't delay any future hearings.

Ramirez wasn't drunk or distracted by a cell phone when he crashed; he just thought he could beat the light, police said at the time of his arrest.