OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. – The driver charged in a fatal Oakland County hit-and-run that killed a 22-year-old Michigan State University student on New Year’s Day is scheduled to be arraigned on state charges on Friday.
Tubtim “Sue” Howson, 57, of Oakland Township, is back in Michigan after fleeing to Thailand to avoid facing charges in a hit-and-run that occurred on Jan. 1. She was brought back to the U.S. in February.
Recommended Videos
UPDATE: Driver given $1M bond in fatal hit-and-run of Michigan State student in Oakland County
She was initially set to be arraigned on federal charges on Tuesday, March 14, but that hearing was postponed. She is scheduled to be arraigned on state charges on Friday, March 17.
Howson is accused of fatally striking 22-year-old Benjamin Kable, a senior at MSU who is originally from Shelby Township and was home for the holidays. Kable was reportedly walking home from a party on southbound Rochester Road near Whims Lane when he was fatally hit by a vehicle.
The driver fled the scene after remaining “in the area for a short period of time,” witnesses reported. Kable was pronounced dead when first responders arrived.
That car was identified as a white BMW 3 series, and was later identified as being driven by Howson, who lives not far from the crash site, authorities said. The BMW was seized from an Oakland Township home on Jan. 5, but no arrests were made at that time.
Investigators later discovered Howson, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Thailand, bought a one-way flight out of Detroit on Jan. 3 and began her journey to Thailand. She was picked up by authorities in Thailand and brought back to the U.S. last month, where she was taken into custody upon arrival.
Howson is facing a federal charge of interstate flight to avoid prosecution, and a state charge of failure to stop at the scene of an accident resulting in death. Both charges carry up to five years in prison.
She is set to be arraigned at 11:30 a.m. on Friday at the 52-3rd District Court in Rochester Hills. She is currently being held in an undisclosed location by the U.S. Marshals Service.