SLO police identify suspect in hit-and-run that killed elderly man

December 20, 2024

By KAREN VELIE

The San Luis Obispo Police Department announced on Thursday that officers arrested the driver who allegedly struck two bicyclists in a hit-and-run in July that resulted in the death of 87-year-olf Saul Goldberg of Avila Beach.

Shortly before noon on July 23, Goldberg and a 73-year-old bicyclist were riding southbound on S. Higuera Street near the cemetery when a white sedan hit and injured them. The driver did not stop.

Goldberg died of his injuries a week after the collision. The 73-year-old rider sustained moderate injuries.

Within minutes of the collision, 44-year-old Vanessa Noblitt, a resident of Bend, Oregon, hit a parked car and was ultimately arrested for DUI and hit and run (property damage only). Noblitt was found to have a blood alcohol content four times the legal limit.

Officers soon began to investigate both collisions as possibly related. Through the investigation, detectives obtained evidence identifying Noblitt as the drive responsible for the death of Goldberg.

Deschutes County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Noblitt on Dec. 18. She is in custody in Oregon awaiting extradition to San Luis Obispo County. Once booked into SLO County Jail, Noblitt’s bail will be set at $160,000.

She is facing charges of vehicular manslaughter, DUI, inflicting great bodily injury and hit-and-run.