The driver charged in a hit-and-run crash that killed a 22-year-old man in Oakland County on New Year’s Day has pleaded no contest, according to court files.
On Wednesday, June 14, Tubtim “Sue” Howson, 57, of Oakland Township, pleaded no contest to the charge of failure to stop at the scene of an accident resulting in death. Pleading no contest means Howson accepts conviction for the charge, but does not admit any guilt.
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Howson is accused of fatally hitting Benjamin Kable, who was reportedly walking home from a party on a road in Oakland Township.
In the early hours of Jan. 1, Kable was walking on southbound Rochester Road near Whims Lane when he was fatally hit by a BMW sedan. The 22-year-old Michigan State University senior was originally from Shelby Township, and was home for the holidays.
The driver, later identified as Howson, fled the scene after remaining “in the area for a short period of time,” witnesses reported. First responders pronounced Kable dead at the scene.
The BMW was seized from an Oakland Township home on Jan. 5, but no arrests were made at that time. It wasn’t until after that investigators learned Howson, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Thailand, bought a one-way flight out of Detroit on Jan. 3 and traveled to Thailand.
Howson was picked up by authorities in Thailand and brought back to the U.S. in February, where she was taken into custody upon arrival. She now faces 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.
Howson pleaded no contest to the state charge on Wednesday. She is expected to be sentenced for this charge on July 26.