BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The parents of an Indiana University student who was struck and killed while riding an electric scooter last year have added a Bloomington bar to their lawsuit against the woman accused in their son's death.
Brad and Elizabeth Stratton initially filed the suit last November against 22-year-old Madelyn Howard. Police arrested Howard, who they say was drunk when she was driving the car that hit Stratton on Sept. 18, 2022.
"This shouldn't happen to any family. It's completely devastating eight months out. This has destroyed our family. There's no reason for it. That somebody has to have a blood alcohol level that is almost three times the legal limit and has the audacity to get into a car," said Brad Stratton.
The suit said "Defendant, Madelyn Howard, left the traveled portion of the roadway while traveling at an excessive and unsafe rate of speed and struck Nathaniel Stratton (and) after hitting Nathaniel Stratton, Defendant, Madelyn Howard, fled the scene in her Mercedes, dragging the scooter underneath her vehicle instead of staying to render aid and/or call for medical assistance for Nathaniel Stratton."
The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and judgment "for (Nathaniel's) death in a reasonable amount to be determined at the trial of this cause, for medical expenses, funeral and burial costs, and other special expenses."
In an amendment to the lawsuit Thursday, the Strattons added Kilroy's Sports Inc. as a defendant.
"We just want everyone to understand the gravity of the situation including Kilroy's. We think that they were part of this situation and we want the criminal case to be brought to the full extent of the law as well as the civil case. If people aren't penalized or held accountable for things like this than nothing is going to change," Stratton said.
According to the lawsuit, Howard, whose blood alcohol concentration tested at .226 - nearly three times the legal limit of .08 - was drinking at Kilroy's Sports Bar on North Walnut Street in Bloomington before the crash. The suit claims bar staff continued to serve Howard, who was visibly intoxicated.
"Indiana law prohibits bars, such as Kilroy’s Sports, from serving alcohol to patrons who are already visibly intoxicated and from over-serving patrons," the lawsuit reads.
Howard was an employee of Kilroy's but was not working the night of the crash, according to the lawsuit. The Crown Point native is currently free on bond.
"He was everything to us. It's just so useless and so egregious that someone has the audacity to do that to that level," Stratton said.