BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The drunk driver who previously pled guilty in the 2022 hit-and-run death of Indiana University student Nate Stratton will now spend the next 10 years in prison.
Madelyn Howard, a 24-year-old Crown Point woman, recently pled guilty to two felonies after she ran over and killed the 20-year-old Stratton in September of 2022. Court documents say Howard had been out drinking and that her blood alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit when Stratton was hit.
Hit-and-run crash
Bloomington police investigators arrested Howard in the early hours of Sept. 18, 2022, after responding to a crash in the northbound lanes of Walnut Street near 12th Street. On scene, officers found Stratton, who was riding an electric scooter, suffering from fatal injuries.
Howard’s passenger recalled being hit by glass from either the windshield or passenger window. He asked Howard, “Did you hit someone?” She replied, “I think I hit somebody,” according to court documents.
An Accident Report filed by BPD illustrated that Howard’s Mercedes Benz swerved onto a bike path while traveling an estimated 50-70 miles per hour, struck Stratton and continued north.
A video shared by an Uber driver showed Howard's car turning eastbound on 17th Street moments later, dragging the unoccupied scooter beneath it, spewing out sparks.
The passenger said he told Howard to pull over; when they stopped, someone flagged them down to tell them they had a scooter lodged underneath their car. A few people helped them dislodge the scooter before police arrived.
"She tried to get bystanders to take the scooter out from under her car so she could keep driving," said Cecilia Stratton, Nate’s sister who was briefed by a detective. "Luckily the police showed up in time."
Arrest and investigation
Howard was taken to IU Health Bloomington Hospital for a blood draw. An officer said she "gave several different versions of how the damage to her vehicle occurred" after admitting she had been drinking at Kilroy's Bar. Her BAC was .226, nearly three times the legal limit of .08.
In an interview at BPD headquarters, Howard said her car wasn't damaged before or after she went to the bar. She said she didn’t remember any accident, nor did she recall running off the road or hitting anyone.
She reportedly did remember turning right onto 17th Street. When asked why she’d turned there, police said she replied, "[it] was either because I hit something, or because I was driving to my old apartment where I used to live that is in that area."
When pressed further after the detective pointed out those were two wildly different explanations, Howard said she’d turned onto 17th Street because she "probably hit something."
After this, Howard was officially arrested and booked into Monroe County Jail.
Howard bonded out of the jail just 17 hours later after posting $2,000 in bail. Family members, including Nate's father Brad Stratton, were upset with the process.
"That’s just incomprehensible," Brad said at the time. "It’s one thing if she stopped and had some remorse but the fact that she kept going."
For more on the investigation into Howard, click here.
Plea, sentencing and more
Howard recently pled guilty to one count of leaving the scene of an accident, a Level 3 felony, and one count of causing death while operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a Level 4 felony.
On Monday, Howard received a 12-year sentence with 2 years suspended. She will now serve the next 10 years in prison and then serve 2 years probation. Her license will also be suspended for 16 years.
In addition to this criminal suit, the Stratton family has also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Howard as well as Kilroy's Sports, Inc. The civil suit alleges that Howard was an off-the-clock employee at Kilroy's Bar when she was overserved prior to the crash.
For more information on the civil suit, click here.
'Fearless': Remembering Nate Stratton
Nate Stratton was a junior in the Kelley School of Business on the Bloomington IU campus and recently made the Dean’s List.
"He wanted to pursue business and the E-Sports industry," said his sister. "He was really passionate about E-Sports."
Stratton hailed from Minnesota and was a downhill skier.
"I don’t know how I’m going to be able to ski without him," said his father. "He was the best skier I ever skied with. Amazing. Fearless."
The family is still devastated by the loss of Nate.
"It’s just a tragedy for us," Brad said. "It’s impossible to put it into words that this person took our son away from us."
For more information on Nate Stratton, click here. To watch a sit-down interview with Stratton's family, click here.