VISTA, Calif. — 26-year-old Christian Howard pleaded not guilty to two felonies and one misdemeanor inside a Vista courtroom Tuesday. He is accused of a fatal hit-and-run, killing 51-year-old Tracey Gross on her bicycle more than seven weeks ago in Oceanside.
“He did not stop, he did not render aid to this victim, and instead ultimately fled the scene,” said Deputy District Attorney, Nicole Gerard, in the courtroom.
According to Oceanside Police, it happened March 17 at 11:35 p.m. along S.R. 76 near Singh Way. The prosecutor alleges Howard veered into the bike lane, striking Gross from behind.
“The victim’s bike was found two miles away from the collision site," said Gerard to the judge. "There’s obvious debris and gouging marks left on the road, indicating that this bike was dragged by the defendant’s vehicle for about two miles.”
Gross was airlifted to the hospital where she died the next day. She was a mother of two adult children. Her ex-husband and her son were in court for Howard's arraignment.
"It just, it just hurts, you know. I know everyone grieves differently, but you know, when you lose someone very close to you, it’s just, I don’t think this is something you’ll ever get over,” said Gross's best friend, Helen St. John.
Gross and St. John both worked as U.S. postal service mail carriers in Oceanside.
“Coming to work and not seeing my best friend there, you know, it’s hard, it still is hard going through it, you know, just not seeing her face, hearing her, talking to her," said St. John.
The prosecutor said Howard lives in Corona, California, in Riverside County. He is charged with vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and hit and run resulting in death or injury, as well as destroying and concealing evidence when he allegedly made repairs to his car and then sold it in the weeks after the collision.
Gross's friends and family want her to be remembered for the fun-loving, special person everyone knew her to be.
“She is a beautiful person, always happy, always smiling, such a wonderful, giving person," said St. John. "I always like to say she’d give you the shirt off her back or her last dollar that she had, but just an amazing person to have in your life.”
The judge set bail at $225,000 and ordered Howard not to drive during the duration of this case if he posts bail. Howard is facing a maximum sentence of 4 years in prison if convicted on all charges. He'll be in court on July 11 for a readiness hearing, and again on September 18 for a preliminary exam hearing.
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