Prosecutors Review Evidence In Fatal Crash In Which Jenner Is Accused
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Prosecutors on Tuesday began reviewing evidence and considering whether charges should be filed against Caitlyn Jenner in a traffic collision that killed a woman on a coastal California highway.
The case was being examined by the Los Angeles County District Attorney Office major crimes division, said Greg Risling, a spokesman for the DA's office.
There was no timetable for when prosecutors will decide whether to file charges, he said.
Authorities said Jenner was driving a sport utility vehicle Feb. 7 when it slammed into two cars on Pacific Coast Highway, pushing a Lexus driven by Kim Howe into oncoming traffic.
Howe, 69, died from her injuries, and her stepchildren are suing Jenner, an Olympic gold medalist.
Sheriff's investigators determined that Jenner, 65, was traveling at an unsafe speed for the road conditions at the time and the evidence supports a vehicular manslaughter charge, the department said last week.
The crash occurred before Jenner announced she is transgender and transitioned into her new identity as Caitlyn.
Jenner's attorney, Blair Berk, declined to comment.
Jenner released a statement after the accident expressing sympathies to everyone involved.
"It is a devastating tragedy," the statement said. "I cannot pretend to imagine what this family is going through at this time. I am praying for them."
Jenner was born Bruce Jenner and won an Olympic gold medal for the decathlon in 1976.
She is facing two lawsuits over the crash, and attorneys for Howe's stepchildren, Dana Redmond and William Howe, want Jenner to testify under oath at a deposition.
Jenner's attorneys are challenging their right to sue and filed a motion asking a judge to reject a motion to require the deposition, saying it should be coordinated with testimony in the other case.
"Defendant has been a public figure for decades, and in recent months the media's interest in her affairs has intensified greatly," Jenner's attorney John Staser wrote in a filing. "Due to the intense public scrutiny faced by (Jenner), it would (be) highly inconvenient to participate in more than one deposition."
A hearing in the civil case is scheduled Sept. 4.
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