Witnesses testified Wednesday that a woman accused of chasing her ex-boyfriend on his motorcycle was driving erratically, but the testimony stopped short of confirming who was to blame for the fatal Santa Rosa crash.
Two elderly witnesses took the stand in advance of a preliminary hearing for Heather Howell, 28, of Santa Rosa, who is charged with second-degree murder in the July 14 crash that killed Jesse Garcia, 56, also of Santa Rosa.
Robert Tuttle, 89, of Oakmont and his ex-wife, Mary Stuart, 81, of Santa Rosa, recalled driving together in a red Lexus sedan along Fulton Road when they were passed by two people identified by police as Howell and her boyfriend.
Tuttle testified the two turned west onto Hall Road but were nowhere in sight when he followed them in his car. In fact, there were no cars anywhere on the two-lane blacktop at the time, Tuttle said.
"I had no idea there was anyone behind me until all the commotion started," he testified.
The next thing he remembered was being struck from behind and seeing Garcia's Triumph TR-6 convertible careening around him on the right shoulder.
He said the car flipped into a ditch, trapping the driver, and then burst into flames. Garcia died at the scene.
After stopping his car, Tuttle spotted a black Acura parked alongside the road ahead of the crash. A woman matching Howell's description came running toward the crash, screaming to bystanders to rescue Garcia, Tuttle said.
"She said rather loudly 'I know I was going too fast, but my mother is in the hospital and I need to get to her,' " Tuttle testified.
But Tuttle could not say who hit his car or how Howell might have been involved in the crash. He didn't know how her car got in front of his.
His version conflicted with the CHP report, which concluded that Garcia was driving in front of Tuttle when the crash occurred.
The CHP has said Howell and her boyfriend, identified by sources as Charles "Tony" Kraus, 45, of Penngrove, were racing up behind Tuttle and Garcia and tried to pass them both at about the same time.
Kraus came around the left on his Harley-Davidson and Howell tried to pass on the right shoulder, the CHP said.
She sideswiped Tuttle's car before rear-ending Garcia, the CHP report said.
It was unclear Wednesday whether testimony from the two people who were at the crash might advance that theory. Witnesses told the CHP that Howell and her boyfriend pulled over briefly on Hall Road, possibly allowing the other cars to get in front of them before the crash.
Prosecutor Anne Masterson said only that there was other evidence in the case that could come up at a preliminary hearing.
Both sides will return to court Sept. 19.
Howell, a nursing school student and Point Arena High School graduate, is charged with second-degree murder under an "implied malice" theory. She faces 15 years to life in prison if convicted.
She has been in custody since the crash.
You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 568-5312 or paul.payne@presdemocrat.com
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