A Santa Rosa woman accused of killing a driver while trying to run down her boyfriend on his motorcycle had flown into a rage because of booze, an ailing parent and news that he was cheating on her, a CHP officer testified Monday.
Heather Howell, 29, is charged with second-degree murder in the July 14 crash that killed Jesse Garcia, 56, of Santa Rosa.
Witnesses said she appeared to be chasing Tony Kraus, 45, of Penngrove, who was on a Harley-Davidson, as the two sped along Fulton Road and headed west on Hall Road.
When Howell tried to ram Kraus, the boyfriend said he swerved out of the way and she sideswiped a red Lexus before rear-ending Garcia in his 1969 Triumph convertible, CHP Officer James Clevenger said at Howell's preliminary hearing.
The sports car overturned and caught fire.
Kraus told police at the scene that Howell lost control of her emotions under the weight of stressful things going on in her life.
"Basically, he said it was the concoction of her drinking that day, her mother being in the hospital and one more thing added on — she found out he was cheating on her with an ex," Clevenger said.
Another witness, Ellen O'Neel, a Hall Road resident, testified that just before the crash she saw Howell speeding around a corner after Kraus and gesturing wildly with her hands.
O'Neel said Howell's flailing arms and facial expressions told her "she was out to get him."
"As far as I was concerned she was giving him the finger," said O'Neel, who saw the two at Hall and Fulton roads.
Howell, who was arrested at the scene, told officers the collision happened somewhere behind her.
Dressed in a blue jail uniform, she watched Monday's testimony from the defense table. Howell shook her head when O'Neel told defense attorney Steve Spiegleman that it appeared she was angry, not distraught.
Howell is charged with second-degree murder under an implied malice theory. Prosecutors haven't charged her with drunken driving, although officers smelled alcohol on her breath and took a blood sample. The results of the blood test were not disclosed.
Kraus was not expected to testify at the hearing. He was reluctant at first to speak with officers but broke down while looking at the smoldering wreck with a yellow tarp draped over it, Clevenger said.
He said he had just informed Howell he was cheating on her when she started to chase him. At one point, they pulled into a subdivision on Country Club Drive but the chase resumed on Hall Road.
"He said he was scared," Clevenger said. "She was chasing him and he was trying to get away."
Prosecutor Ann Masterson showed several crash scene photos, including one of Howell's crumpled car. A reverse impression of the word "Triumph" was stamped into Howell's right fender where she's accused of striking the back of Garcia's car after passing the Lexus on the shoulder of the road.
You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 568-5312 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com.
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