“Profoundly shocking” and “appallingly lenient” is how District Attorney John T. Savrnoch described the nine-month jail sentence given to a Santa Barbara woman who was under the influence of alcohol and cocaine when she caused a fatal collision on Highway 154 last May.
The sentence was delivered Tuesday by visiting Judge Brian Aronson from Sutter County.
“Our office sought a significant state prison sentence because that is what justice and public safety demand in a case like this,” Savrnoch said in a prepared statement. “When someone chooses to drive in that condition and takes a life, there must be real consequences.”
Katelyn Fultz, 29, was driving eastbound on San Marcos Pass at around 6:50 a.m. on May 1 when she crossed the double-yellow line and slammed head-on into a car driven by Carly Howard, who was on her way to work.
Toxicology results showed Fultz had a blood alcohol content of 0.167% ― more than twice the legal limit ― and detected the presence of cocaethylene, a compound formed when cocaine and alcohol are used together. Fultz was also driving without a valid license.
Howard had to be extricated from her car and was transported unconscious to Cottage Hospital, where it was determined she had suffered a traumatic brain injury and multiple bone fractures. Three weeks later, with no hope of recovery, Howard was taken off life support. “Carly passed away peacefully and is in Heaven with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” her family said at the time. She was 24.
Last month, Fultz pleaded no contest to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, among other charges. A passenger in Howard’s car had also sustained a deep laceration and a broken foot in the collision.
At Tuesday’s sentencing hearing, Judge Aronson heard what Savrnoch described as “powerful victim impact statements” from Howard’s family and friends. Aronson also heard arguments from prosecutors that Fultz should be sentenced to 10 years and eight months in state prison. The Probation Department recommended seven years and eight months.
The sentence that Aronson ultimately handed down ― nine months in county jail, five years of probation, and a suspended six-year prison term ― “is profoundly shocking and does not come close to reflecting the magnitude of the loss suffered by Carly Howard’s family,” Savrnoch said. “A young woman lost her life because of a series of reckless, illegal, and dangerous decisions by the defendant.”
Court records show Fultz had previously been cited ― once in November 2022, and again in February 2023 ― for driving without a license, current registration, or proof of insurance. Records also show family members of Fultz, who graduated from San Marcos High School in 2015, with arrests for DUI, hit-and-run, and domestic violence.
“While nothing can undo the harm caused, this appallingly lenient sentence sends the wrong message about the seriousness of impaired driving,” said Savrnoch. “We at the District Attorney’s Office remain committed to aggressively prosecuting DUI cases and standing with victims and their families in the pursuit of accountability.”
Judge Aronson retired in 2018 but was temporarily brought back to the bench to help individual counties fill vacancies and manage case backlogs. A press release announcing his retirement noted he “participated in the ‘DUI in the Schools’ program in which actual court hearings were held at several local high schools.” He was also credited as having a “photographic memory” and being former Jeopardy! champion. It was not immediately clear what other Santa Barbara cases Aronson is currently presiding over.
Fultz will be back in court on April 28, this time in front of Judge Von Deroian, to formalize the terms of her probation. Calls to the District Attorney’s Office and Fultz’s defense attorney for further comment were not returned by press time.
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