Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department investigators plan to submit evidence to the District Attorney’s Office next week that could potentially lead to a misdemeanor manslaughter charge against Caitlyn Jenner over a fatal traffic crash in Malibu, officials said Thursday.
“We have completed the investigation and will present the case to the D.A.’s Office next week,” Sheriff’s Lt. Patrick Mathers of the Malibu/Lost Hills Station told City News Service.
Sheriff’s officials said their investigation determined that Jenner, then known as Bruce Jenner, was driving at an unsafe speed when the Feb. 7 collision occurred on Pacific Coast Highway near Corral Canyon Road. Sheriff’s Detective Richard Curry told the Los Angeles Times Jenner was not speeding, but was driving at an unsafe speed for the road conditions.
Surveillance video of the crash released in July appears to show the ex- Olympian rear-ending a white Lexus, which is forced into oncoming traffic and slams into an oncoming Hummer, killing the Lexus driver.
Relatives of the Lexus driver, 69-year-old Kim Howe, have filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Jenner, who was not injured in the crash and now identifies as a woman.
Jenner was driving a Cadillac Escalade, hauling an off-road vehicle on a trailer. Shortly after the crash, authorities said it appeared that Howe’s Lexus had crashed into a black Toyota Prius whose driver had slowed or stopped for unknown reasons, prompting Jenner to rear-end the Lexus, pushing it into the path of the Hummer.
The video released in July appeared to show Jenner rear-ending the Lexus, pushing it into oncoming traffic, then striking the Prius, which was driven by Hollywood talent manager Jessica Marie Steindorff. Steindorff has also sued Jenner over the crash.
Curry told The Times that Steindorff was driving on a suspended license at the time of the crash, and she could face a criminal charge.
Once evidence is submitted by the sheriff’s department, the District Attorney’s Office will review it and have the final say over whether any charges are filed.
Jenner’s attorney, Philip Boesch, told City News Service in July he believes the surveillance video weighs in Jenner’s favor and confirmed that the crash “was simply a tragic accident.”
Shortly after the February crash, Jenner released a statement saying, “My heartfelt and deepest sympathies go out to the family and loves ones, and to all of those who were involved or injured in this terrible accident. It’s a devastating tragedy and I cannot pretend to imagine what this family is going through at this time. I am praying for them. I will continue to cooperate in every way possible.”
—City News Service