Woman who allegedly hit, killed SLO County cyclist while drunk is charged with murder
The woman who allegedly hit and killed an 87-year-old cyclist in San Luis Obispo while driving drunk was charged with murder on Tuesday.
Vanessa Rose Noblitt, 44, was arrested in Oregon on Dec. 19 months after she allegedly crashed into 74-year-old Martin Suits and 87-year-old Saul Goldberg, both of Avila Beach, while the two were riding electric bicycles near the cemetery on South Higuera Street on July 23, 2024.
Goldberg died of his injuries days later in the hospital. Suits survived but continues to have trouble with his fingers and reconciling with the loss of his best friend, he previously told The Tribune.
She was first charged on Dec. 9 with vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated without gross negligence, DUI causing injury, DUI with blood alcohol content above .08 and property damage hit-and-run. She pleaded not guilty to the crimes on Jan. 22.
The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office added a second-degree murder charge on Tuesday.
Under California law, a defendant can be guilty of second-degree murder if they kill someone while driving drunk. It can be charged when someone has a previous DUI charge or if there is other evidence that shows the defendant intentionally drove drunk, knew driving drunk was dangerous, knew driving drunk could cause death or had reckless disregard for human life.
According to the district attorney’s case search, Noblitt was previously convicted of drunk driving in 2006. In a previous court hearing, SLO County Deputy District Attorney Mahjoubeh Foolad said Noblitt’s blood alcohol content was .31 — nearly four times the legal limit — at the time of the crash.
Noblitt’s charges carry several sentencing enhancements, including inflicting great bodily injury, injuring multiple victims and having a blood alcohol content of .15 or higher.
Now, Noblitt faces up to 15 years to life in state prison.
Her next court hearing was set for May 6.
This story was originally published March 11, 2025 at 5:52 PM.
