Defendant Sentenced for Vehicular Homicide

Defendant Teri Hoyle, 43 years old of Santa Rosa, was sentenced Friday by the Honorable Judge Nancy Shaffer for the misdemeanor vehicular homicide of Alfred Lemay after having been found guilty by a jury in May of this year.

The charge resulted from a collision on November 22, 2016, at the intersection of Sebastopol Road and Dutton Avenue in Santa Rosa. The defendant had been traveling westbound on Sebastopol Road in a Dodge minivan, then came to a stop in the left turn lane. The victim, an experienced motorcycle driver, approached the intersection on a Harley Davidson, traveling eastbound on Sebastopol Road. Witnesses testified that the victim was traveling the speed limit with his headlight activated and wearing a reflective safety vest. As the victim entered the intersection, the defendant failed to yield and initiated her left turn directly into Mr. Lemay’s path, causing the collision and ejecting him from the motorcycle. Mr. Lemay suffered major blunt force trauma and was pronounced deceased at the scene. The defendant was cooperative with the investigation, and drugs and alcohol were not a factor.

At sentencing, the maximum jail term the defendant faced was one year. Members of Mr. Lemay’s family were present, and the Court heard victim impact statements before pronouncing the sentence. The defendant was ordered to serve 60 days in the county jail, ordered to complete 240 hours of community service, and will be supervised on formal probation for a period of 3 years.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Sarah Brooks, assisted by District Attorney Investigator Lyn McCarthy and Victim Advocate Elizabeth Garcia. Officer Jeffrey Woods of the Santa Rosa Police Department headed the investigation.