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Caitlyn Jenner Likely to Escape Charges in Deadly Crash
Caitlyn Jenner Likely to Escape Charges in Deadly Crash
The trans reality star is not completely off the hook yet.
After rear-ending a car that lost control and crashed head-on with another vehicle in Malibu, Calif., last February, trans reality star Caitlyn Jenner is likely to escape vehicular manslaughter charges, TMZ reports.
Jenner's action were "negligent, but not criminal," according to sources at the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office, who relied on information obtained at the accident scene from the L.A. County Sheriff's Department. District Attorney Jackie Lacey could override her staff's recommendation and file criminal charges herself, though TMZ believes that's unlikely.
When L.A. County sheriff's deputies completed their investigation last month, a detective said there was a "50/50" chance that Jenner would face a criminal charge in the accident, but so far no charges have been filed against anyone. If one is filed against Jenner, the charge would most likely be misdemeanor-level manslaughter, the detective said.
In the accident, Jenner's Cadillac Escalade rear-ended Kimberly Howe's car, pushing it into oncoming traffic, where it was struck head-on by a Hummer. After rear-ending Howe, Jenner also rear-ended a Prius driven by Jessica Steindorff. Howe, 69, died in the crash, and several people were injured. Howe's stepchildren have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Jenner, and Steindorff has filed a personal injury suit against her.
Jenner was driving under the speed limit, she told Matt Lauer, but sheriff's deputies have said she was driving too fast for the rainy conditions that day -- something with which Jenner took issue.
The usual sentence for misdemeanor-level manslaughter is a year in the county jail. About the possibility of going to jail, Jenner told Lauer, "The media wants that picture, don't they? That is the worst-case scenario. I don't know. We'll see. The men's county jail. It is an enormous problem that they would put trans women in a men's county jail."
The L.A. County Men's Central Jail, by the way, does have a special wing for gay and transgender inmates, and while such segregation is controversial, the arrangement has reportedly protected gay and trans inmates from violence.
