Arroyo Grande woman charged with murder for alleged DUI crash that killed SLO man
>> UPDATE: New details emerge as Arroyo Grande woman enters plea in deadly Hwy. 227 crash
An Arroyo Grande woman has been charged with murder in an apparent DUI crash that killed a San Luis Obispo man on Highway 227 last week.
On the evening of Sunday, Dec. 1, while allegedly driving under the influence with a child in the car, Chelsea AnnMarie Stiles, 26, collided head-on with 72-year-old Terry Tilton. Tilton died in the crash.
On Monday, Stiles was charged with murder and 10 other charges, including a lesser charge of vehicular manslaughter, assault with a deadly weapon, driving under the influence of drugs, hit and run resulting in death or injury, willful harm to a child, animal cruelty, and possession of a controlled substance.
If convicted of the murder charge, Stiles faces at least 15 years to life in state prison.
She was being held at the San Luis Obispo County Jail Monday without bail, after being booked Thursday afternoon following treatment at a local hospital, jail logs show.
Stiles is scheduled to be arraigned in court Tuesday morning, according to court records.
Why a murder charge
Typically, a defendant in a deadly DUI crash would not face a murder charge unless they’d already been previously convicted for driving under the influence.
In what is known as a Watson advisement, drivers with a DUI conviction must sign an acknowledgment that if they drive under the influence in the future and a person dies as a result, the driver may be charged with second-degree murder.
It was not immediately clear late Monday afternoon whether Stiles has a previous DUI conviction. San Luis Obispo Superior Court records dating back to 2015 do not show any previous criminal history for Stiles.
San Luis Obispo County has seen a handful of Watson cases in recent history. In 2018, Santa Maria resident William Mobley was convicted by a jury of murder for in the death of Richard “Ric” Stabile in 2017; Mobley had two previous DUI convictions before striking and killing Stabile on Highway 101.
Another Santa Maria resident, Edgar Morales, was allegedly three times over the legal limit to drive in 2018 when he allegedly struck a vehicle on Thompson Road in Nipomo, killing 82-year-old Maria Medina, also of Santa Maria. Morales also had two previous DUI convictions at the time.
Details of the crash
In Stiles’ case, the CHP says she was driving a 2005 GMC north on Highway 227 south of Patchett Road in San Luis Obispo at about 6 p.m. Sunday as Tilton drove a 2013 Honda south on the highway.
For reasons unknown, Stiles’ GMC traveled into the southbound lane and collided head-on with the Honda, according to the news release. Tilton was pronounced dead at the scene.
Stiles suffered moderate injuries and was taken to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo, along with an 18-month-old girl who received minor injuries. The girl, also from Arroyo Grande, was a passenger in Stiles’ car, the CHP said.
Tribune staff writers Kaytlyn Leslie and Monica Vaughan contributed to this article.
This story was originally published December 9, 2019 at 5:52 PM.