They crashed. They killed. They drive again in the North Gulf – and this is completely legal

This story was originally published by CalmattersS Register about their ballots.

This story is the result of A one -month investigation by the Press Democrat in partnership with Calmatters.

Before the dawn broke on quiet Monday in October 2019, Kelly Nora Michel was asleep in her van on Avenue Hohen in Santa Rosa – her dog curled up to her, with their van being the only shared refuge.

She has never seen the car coming.

Traveling 90 miles / h in an area of 35 miles / h, Angel Ivan Martinez flew around the street with two strips, drunk behind the wheel of a Dodge charger. He crashed into Michelle’s parked van with such force that he dropped the car at the power pole, then the tree, then another car. The resignations extended through the block like a shrapnel.

“I remember it was a terrifying scene,” police in Santa Rosa recalled. Patricia Sephens, who arrived this morning as a patrol officer. “The field of debris was so expansive.”

Michelle and her dog died instantly. She was 50 – a mother, a native of Sonoma County and a graduate of Rancho Kota High School. Friends and family have identified her as smart and free -minded, someone who struggles with the problems of mental health, addiction and attacks of homelessness. At that time, she hired a room nearby, but chose to sleep in her van so she could stay with her dog, which did not get along with another pet inside.

Martinez’s license was canceled. It is pleaded without a competition in August 2020 for a crime for vehicles and DUI.

And then – four years later – the state returned its license back.

Despite the murder of someone and later arrested for driving unlicensed and giving a false police name, a new driver’s license in California was issued to Martinez in 2023. This is valid until 2027.

It is not appearance.

A system designed to restart

A one -month investigation by the Democrat Press, in partnership with Calmatters, found that California routinely restores the driving licenses of people convicted of killing someone behind the wheel – often as they drink, accelerate or escape from the scene.

In Sonoma District alone, at least 47 people have been charged with car murder since 2019, according to data made up of the Democrat and Calmatters press. At least three, including Martinez, were convicted of crimes, lost their licenses and are already back on the road. Others could follow soon.

Similar cases have appeared in neighboring cities of Napa, Mendocino and a lake.

Everything is legal. It happens quietly. And the state does not follow it.

California allows most drivers convicted of fatal clashes – especially in cases related to alcohol, drugs or exceptional recklessness – to reinstate them for a license after a period of cancellation, which usually lasts three years. In some cases, they continue to drive, even before their criminal cases are resolved.

Drivers facing cancellation may challenge the decision of the Ministry of Motor Vehicles, but they must act within days after notification. Otherwise, they have to wait for the period of cancellation and then apply again – to pass tests, to pay fees and in some cases complete rehabilitation courses.

On the numbers

A Calmatters analysis This spring, nearly 40% of the Californians accused of car murder from 2019, still have valid licenses, including drivers with convictions for murder of cars, are discovered.

The democrat of the press took the next step – identifying drivers in the North Gulf, who regained the privileges of driving even after sentences for crimes.

Among them, according to DMV Records:

The granite bay, which killed an 8-month-old child in a crash with many Lakeville cars near the petal in 2018, at the age of 18.
A man from Santa Rosa, convicted in 2020 for fatal blow and running on highway 12.
A man from Mendocino County, convicted of a fiery crash that killed his passenger in August 2020 on the 101 Highway in Ukia.

There is no consistent model in the sentences or restoration of licenses in race, income or gender, according to an analysis of the available data.

As the state does not track how often the driving licenses are restored after fatal crashes, the Democrat press has examined dozens of car killing from the end of 2018 to the beginning of 2025 in the Counts Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino and Lake. Sonoma County had the largest number of cases – about 50 – while the rest had about 20.

For this history, the cases were limited to older crimes that led to sentences, had affordable court and DMV records and were adult enough that the periods of annulment could be completed. Full accounting was not possible.