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Family of IU student killed in drunk driving crash responds to plea agreement

Investigators say Madelyn Howard hit 20-year-old Nathaniel Stratton, who was riding an electric scooter in Bloomington on Sept. 18, 2022.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — A woman charged with hitting and killing an Indiana University student in 2022 has accepted a plea deal in the case.

Investigators say Madelyn Howard hit 20-year-old Nathaniel Stratton, who was riding an electric scooter near North Walnut and East 12th streets in Bloomington on Sept. 18, 2022. He later died from his injuries at IU Health Bloomington Hospital.

Police found the suspect vehicle, a black 2012 Mercedes-Benz with damage to the windshield, and a badly damaged electric scooter about a half-mile from the crash scene.

Howard, who was 22 at the time of the crash, failed dexterity tests at the scene and was taken into custody.

Security camera footage from a business near where the crash happened showed the car's passenger-side tires on the sidewalk east of Walnut Street. Police said the car appeared to be going fast, and a person on the sidewalk was seen jumping into the grass to avoid being hit by the car just before the car hit Stratton on the electric scooter.

Credit: Monroe County Correctional Center
Madelyn Howard, 22, of Crown Point.

Court records show Howard pleaded guilty Tuesday, March 5 to leaving the scene of an accident and causing death when operating a vehicle while intoxicated. As part of the agreement, the state dismissed the other charges against her, including reckless homicide.

A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for May 6.

"There's no really winning or victory in this for us. We get a life sentence of grieving Nate's loss, no matter what happens here," said Brad Stratton, Nathaniel's father. "I have to live without my son everyday. I go to bed every night thinking about him, I wake up thinking about him. That's never going to change."

Credit: Stratton family
Nate Stratton

A civil lawsuit filed against Howard by Stratton's parents is still pending. Kilroy's Sports Bar was later added to the suit. Stratton's family claims bar staff continued to serve Howard, who was allegedly visibly intoxicated before the deadly crash.

"This can't happen anymore, but that's what we are trying to prevent, this happening to another family," Brad said.

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