Caitlyn Jenner May Face Vehicular Manslaughter Charges For February Car Crash

Caitlyn Jenner is in some legal trouble, and it all has to do with the fatal car crash that she was involved in earlier this year, USA Today reports.

Nicole Nishida, spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, told USA Today that “the case will be presented next week to the district attorney’s office for a possible misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charge,” due to a death that resulted from the crash. It’s now up to the district attorney to decide whether charges will actually be filed.

Since there’s “nothing really egregious” about the case, Det. Richard Curry of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Dept. said there’s a “50/50” chance that Jenner will face charges. However, Det. Curry did acknowledge that her violation of the vehicular manslaughter law ultimately led to a death.

The Sheriff’s Dept. stated in its 161-page report that Jenner “set off a chain of events” that ultimately caused the death of a motorist on the Pacific Coast Highway in February.

The investigation into the crash concluded that Jenner was travelling below the speed limit but too fast for the road conditions, TMZ reports. The report states that traffic had either stopped or slow down when Jenner’s car rammed into the Lexus, fatally injuring Kim Howe, 69.

Caitlyn was traveling north on the Pacific Coast Highway when the black Cadillac Escalade collided with the Lexus. The Lexus swerved into oncoming traffic and a Hummer crashed into it. After hitting Howe, Jenner’s SUV kept moving and crashed into the back of a black Prius driven by, Hollywood talent manager Jessica Steindorff.

Howe was the only person killed in the crash, but seven other people were injured.

Howe’s stepchildren and Steindorff, who was injured, have filed lawsuits against Caitlyn Jenner. Jenner has thus far passed a field sobriety test after the car crash and submitted a blood sample to investigators.

Steindorff has publicly criticized Jenner for not speaking out about her responsibility in the crash, especially around the time that Jenner was given the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage.

“I find it difficult to understand how the culture we live in can honor a person who is responsible for taking a life and injuring several others with both an award and a reality show,” Steindorff said in a statement to Entertainment Tonight.

“I would hope that someone who seems to greatly value the importance of human existence would be more sensitive to the fact that she ended another person’s life,” she said.

A misdemeanor manslaughter charge is usually punished with a one-year jail sentence.

The district attorney is scheduled to review the case on Wednesday. Caitlyn Jenner has not, at the time of the writing of this article, commented on these new developments.

[Photo by Josiah Kamau/Getty Images]