{"id":470258,"date":"2025-07-09T05:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T12:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/?p=470258"},"modified":"2026-02-03T12:11:04","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T20:11:04","slug":"license-to-kill-north-bay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/_zh\/justice\/2025\/07\/license-to-kill-north-bay\/","title":{"rendered":"They crashed. They killed. They\u2019re driving again in the North Bay \u2014 and it\u2019s perfectly legal"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t\n\t\t
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In summary<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

Despite felony convictions in fatal crashes, several local drivers have regained licenses under a system that operates with no public tracking, few safeguards and rising calls for reform.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n

This story is the result of a monthslong investigation by The Press Democrat<\/a> in partnership with CalMatters.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before dawn broke on a quiet Monday in October 2019, Kellie Nora Michelle was asleep in her van on Hoen Avenue in Santa Rosa \u2014 her dog curled beside her, the van their only shared refuge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She never saw the car coming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traveling 90 mph in a 35 mph zone, Angel Ivan Martinez flew around a bend in the two-lane street, drunk behind the wheel of a Dodge Charger. He slammed into Michelle\u2019s parked van with such force that it launched the vehicle into a power pole, then a tree, then another car. The wreckage sprawled across the block like shrapnel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI remember it being a horrific scene,\u201d recalled Santa Rosa police Sgt. Patricia Seffens, who arrived that morning as a patrol officer. \u201cThe debris field was so expansive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michelle and her dog died instantly. She was 50 \u2014 a mother, a Sonoma County native and a Rancho Cotate High School graduate. Friends and family described her as smart and free-spirited, someone who struggled with mental health issues, addiction and bouts of homelessness. At the time, she was renting a room nearby but chose to sleep in her van so she could stay with her dog, who didn\u2019t get along with another pet inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Martinez\u2019s license was revoked. He pleaded no contest in August 2020 to felony vehicular manslaughter and DUI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then \u2014 four years later \u2014 the state gave his license back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite killing someone, and later being arrested for driving unlicensed and giving police a false name, Martinez was issued a new California driver\u2019s license in 2023. It\u2019s valid through 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He is not an outlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Santa Rosa police investigate the scene where Kellie Nora Michelle was killed by a drunken driver near Hoen Avenue and Cypress Way, on Oct. 14, 2019. The driver, Angel Ivan Martinez, was later convicted of felony vehicular manslaughter and DUI \u2014 and has since regained his license. Photo by Beth Schlanker, The Press Democrat<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A system designed to restart<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A monthslong investigation by The Press Democrat, in partnership with CalMatters, found that California routinely restores driver\u2019s licenses to people convicted of killing someone behind the wheel \u2014 often while drunk, speeding or fleeing the scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Sonoma County alone, at least 47 people have been charged with vehicular manslaughter since 2019, according to data compiled by The Press Democrat and CalMatters. At least three, including Martinez, were convicted of felonies, lost their licenses and are already back on the road. Others could follow soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similar cases have emerged in neighboring Napa, Mendocino and Lake counties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s all legal. It\u2019s happening quietly. And the state doesn\u2019t track it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

California allows most drivers convicted in fatal collisions \u2014 particularly in cases involving alcohol, drugs or extreme recklessness \u2014 to reapply for a license after a revocation period that typically lasts three years. In some cases, they continue driving even before their criminal cases are resolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drivers facing revocation can challenge the Department of Motor Vehicles\u2019 decision, but they must act within days of being notified. Otherwise, they must wait out the revocation period, then reapply \u2014 passing tests, paying fees and, in some cases, completing rehabilitation courses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Police investigate a crash involving two vehicles on Lakeville Highway at Pine View Way in Petaluma, on Feb. 1, 2024. One driver, 79-year-old Beverly Klevin, was killed. The other, Samir Bhumbla, was later charged with gross vehicular manslaughter. Photo by Beth Schlanker, The Press Democrat<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By the numbers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A CalMatters analysis<\/a> this spring found nearly 40% of Californians charged with vehicular manslaughter since 2019 still held valid licenses, including drivers with vehicular manslaughter convictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\t\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\tRELATED STORY<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t
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License to Kill<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t

The California DMV routinely allows dangerous drivers with horrifying histories to continue to operate on our roadways. Too often they go on to kill. Many keep driving even after they kill. Some go on to kill again. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/article>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\n

The Press Democrat took the next step \u2014 identifying drivers in the North Bay who regained driving privileges even after felony convictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among them, according to DMV records:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  • A Granite Bay man who killed an 8-month-old child in a multi-car crash on Lakeville Highway near Petaluma in 2018, at the age of 18.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • A Santa Rosa man convicted in 2020 for a fatal hit-and-run on Highway 12.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • A Mendocino County man convicted in a fiery crash that killed his passenger in August 2020 on Highway 101 in Ukiah.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    There was no consistent pattern in convictions or license reinstatements by race, income or gender, according to an analysis of the available data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Because the state does not track how often driver\u2019s licenses are reinstated after fatal crashes, The Press Democrat reviewed dozens of vehicular manslaughter cases from late 2018 through early 2025 in Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino and Lake counties. Sonoma County had by far the highest number of cases \u2014 around 50 \u2014 while the others each had about 20.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For this story, cases were narrowed to older felony collisions that resulted in convictions, had accessible court and DMV records, and were old enough that revocation periods could have ended. A full accounting was not possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n