A pickup truck driver accused of hitting and killing a motorcyclist in Santa Rosa is still facing a murder charge. Yesterday, a judge decided to uphold the murder charge against Charles Bernhardy, who is accused of killing a 23-year-old man in September of 2022. Bernhardy’s public defender argued that, since his client was reportedly drunk on the night of the collision, he couldn’t have planned to kill the motorcyclist. The public defender was trying to get the murder charge downgraded or dropped, by arguing there was no intent, which is a key component of murder.
Revision: A previous version of this story named Michael Teply as the defendant in this case. That was incorrect as Teply is the public defender.