A defendant in a vehicular manslaughter case making its way through the Santa Barbara County Superior Court has died before her trial.
On Friday, Judge James Herman dismissed the case against Sheri Ann Craig, 54, of Port Hueneme.
She had been charged with vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and driving under the influence of drugs causing injury in a 2018 crash near Buellton.
In addition to the two felony charges, Craig faced special allegations, or sentencing enhancements, for causing great bodily injury to more than one victim.
About 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 24, 2018, an eastbound Honda Civic driven by Craig in the 7600 block of Highway 246 drifted into the dirt median while traveling about 60 mph and overturned several times, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Daniel Davis, 60, of Camarillo died in the crash. Another passenger, George Martinez, 59, of Oxnard, and the driver had minor injures.
Authorities alleged that Craig was driving under the influence of Vicodin and methamphetamine.
She had entered not guilty pleas in the case and denied the special allegations.
Following a preliminary hearing in early 2019, Craig was ordered to stand trial on the charges.
However, the trial had been delayed a number of times including while awaiting additional evidence and due to the pandemic.
The attorneys returned to court Friday for dismissal of the case due to the defendant’s death.
Craig passed away unexpectedly on June 16, 2021, according to an obituary posted on the website for the Camino del Sol Funeral Home.
The cause of death reportedly remains under investigation by the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office.
She had been out of custody awaiting trial at the time of her death.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.