Written by John Savrnoch, Santa Barbara County District Attorney
On May 1, 2025, Carly Howard was driving to work on the San Marcos Pass when her vehicle was struck by a truck driven by Katelyn Fultz. Fultz was driving without a driver’s license and with a blood alcohol concentration more than twice California’s presumptively illegal limit when Fultz crossed the center line and collided with Carly’s vehicle. Carly never regained consciousness. Her family was forced to endure the unimaginable heartbreak of saying goodbye to a loved one on Mother’s Day weekend. Carly’s life was taken by an entirely preventable act.
Sadly, cases like Carly’s are not isolated tragedies. Every year, families throughout Santa Barbara County and across the state and nation experience devastating and irreversible loss because someone chose to drive impaired. Behind every impaired-driving fatality statistic is a victim whose future was stolen and a family forever changed…