Arroyo Grande woman said she intentionally caused deadly Hwy. 227 crash, officer testifies
The murder trial for a motorist accused of intentionally crashing head-on into another vehicle while high on cocaine with a child in the car began Wednesday in San Luis Obispo Superior Court with jurors seeing video of the deadly crash site.
Chelsea AnnMarie Stiles of Arroyo Grande is charged with murder, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, assault with a deadly weapon, willful cruelty to a child, and DUI-related charges for the series of crashes on and around Highway 227 in December 2019 that resulted in the death of San Luis Obispo resident Terry Tilton, who was driving in the opposite direction.
Tilton was pronounced dead at the scene.
Stiles also faces animal cruelty charges after one of two dogs ejected from the SUV had to be euthanized. A bag containing a small, usable amount of cocaine was also allegedly found in her purse inside the wrecked SUV, according to testimony.
Stiles, who suffered moderate injuries in the crash and required several days’ hospitalization, sat masked in court, crying occasionally as details of the incident were told by the first CHP officer to arrive on site.
She’s remained in County Jail custody since her arrest.
Stiles is being represented by defense attorney Ilan Funke-Bilu, who opted to reserve his opening statement to the jury Wednesday. Instead, jurors heard from Eric Dobroth, the county’s assistant district attorney, who laid out a straightforward timeline of the alleged series of road rage incidents that led to the fatal crash.
Dobroth summized how, “on the heels of a contentious breakup” with her former partner, she abruptly ended a visitation with the couple’s 18-month-old daughter, and drove recklessly northbound on Highway 227, rear-ending a family in one vehicle, who then reported the incident and followed the white Yukon up Highway 227.
It was estimated by investigators that Stiles was driving between 65 and 75 mph when she veered into the southbound lane and into the path of Tilton, who was driving a Honda Ridgeline.
Dobroth told jurors they would hear from several eyewitnesses, including the first family who were allegedly struck, and from good Samaritans who stopped to help Stiles, her daughter, and the two animals in the roadway.
Jurors are expected to see a series of text messages between Stiles and her ex from the hours before the crash, in which the man tells her she “literally grabbed” the daughter from the arranged meeting, and cautioned her that she “better just drive safe.”
“I’m very scared for my baby’s safety right now,” the father is alleged to have texted Stiles minutes before the collision.
Stiles allegedly texted back: “You know what I’m capable of” and “You’re lucky I’m not suicidal,” according to Dobroth.
CHP Officer Trevor Ashby, who was the first law enforcement official on scene, recounted on the stand how he pulled up to the crash site north of the Cold Canyon landfill, where he saw the Yukon on its roof and debris from inside strewn about the road.
A woman was cradling the 18-month-old, and other people were attending to the hurt dogs, he said. Stiles was sitting dazed in the middle of the road, with a significant facial injury, and he was unable to glean any information from her until he interviewed her at the hospital.
Jurors saw photos of the Ridgeline, with its front end completely smashed in and a yellow tarp draped over Tilton, who was partially hanging out of the driver’s side window.
At Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center, Ashby testified, Stiles admitted to drinking — it was later revealed she hadn’t consumed alcohol — and taking “a tail” of cocaine. She also allegedly admitted to saying she was trying to kill herself, though audio of the interview played for jurors was hard to hear.
Asked by Deputy District Attorney Benjamin Blumenthal whether he asked if the crash was intentional, Ashby said, “She said yes.”
When he asked why, Ashby testified that Stiles replied it was because she loves her daughter.
The trial is expected to last about three weeks and is open to the public via audio live stream provided by San Luis Obispo Superior Court staff.
