BLOOMINGTON — A judge sentenced Madelyn Howard to 12 years in prison for the drunken hit-and-run death of IU Student Nate Stratton.
Howard had a blood alcohol level of .226, nearly four times the legal limit.
Monroe Circuit Court 9 Judge Darcie L. Fawcett sentenced Howard to 10 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections and ordered her to serve two years on probation upon her release. Judge Fawcett then suspended Howard’s driver’s license for 16 years. Howard has 30 days to appeal her conviction.
Howard pleaded guilty on March 5, 2024, to leaving the scene of an accident, a Level 3 felony, and one of the two counts of causing death when operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, a Level 4 felony. In exchange, the state agreed to dismiss the remaining charges, which were one count of causing death when operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, a Level 4 felony, and reckless homicide, a Level 5 felony.
During victim impact statements, Stratton’s family and friends shared how he always brought people together. Stratton had a sarcastic, competitive, and kind soul. Stratton had just started his junior year at IU, where he was pursuing studies in entrepreneurship.
To illustrate the seriousness of the crash, the car Howard hit Stratton with was parked outside the justice center in Bloomington, and the scooter Stratton was riding was leaning on the car. Pieces of Stratton’s hair remained embedded in the top of the windshield, where it was determined that Stratton’s head collided with the vehicle.
On Saturday, September 18, 2022, at 1:50 a.m. Bloomington Police officers responded to the intersection of North Walnut and 12th streets after a report of an accident with injuries.
Several witnesses called 911 to report the crash. One of the drivers fled the scene and traveled north on Walnut Street at a high speed.
According to Bloomington Police Capt. Ryan Pedigo, the driver of the fleeing vehicle, had struck 20-year-old Nathaniel Stratton, of Miromar Lakes, Florida, who was riding an electric scooter. Stratton was severely injured.
When officers arrived, they located Stratton lying along the east edge of the roadway, just north of the intersection. An ambulance arrived, and shortly after that, he was transported to IU Health Bloomington Hospital.
Video surveillance from a Domino’s near the site of the crash showed Howard’s car driving at a high rate of speed on the sidewalk, causing a pedestrian to jump out of the way. Stratton is then struck. One of Stratton’s shoes can be seen flying down the sidewalk and landing in front of the Domino’s, nearly 100 feet from where he was struck.
According to investigators, after striking Stratton, Howard continued to drive for more than four blocks on Walnut Street, two blocks east on 17th Street, and then two more blocks north on Lincoln Street before finally stopping due to the damage to her car. Once the vehicle stopped, one witness told police a group of people approached Howard and her passenger to notify them that they had been dragging a scooter beneath the car. Video from an Uber driver showed the vehicle turning on 17th Street after the crash, dragging the scooter underneath it and kicking up sparks.
Indiana University Police Department located the fleeing vehicle at the intersection of 19th and Lincoln Streets.
Bloomington Police responded and located the black 2012 Mercedes Benz car with damage to the windshield. They located the badly damaged electric scooter nearby.
A security officer driving through the area advised officers that they had seen the car driving north on Lincoln Street, and it sounded as if the vehicle was dragging something. The security officer stated that the car stopped at the intersection of 19th and Lincoln Streets, a female got out of the driver’s seat, and a male got out of the front passenger seat.
The security officer heard individuals nearby tell the occupants they were dragging an electric scooter under the car. The bystanders helped the driver remove it just before Indiana University Police arrived.
Howard told the officer she left Kilroy’s Sports at 319 North Walnut Street and was taking a friend home because he was too intoxicated to drive. She agreed to drive him home.
Initially, Howard “refused to acknowledge being involved in an accident,” police said, and couldn’t explain what caused the damage to her car. She failed a series of field sobriety tests. Her eyes were “red and watery,” police said, and she agreed to go for a blood draw.
While Howard claimed she didn’t know what happened to her car, her passenger gave police a clearer picture of what transpired.
Howard’s passenger recalled being hit by the glass from either the windshield or the passenger window. He asked Howard, “Did you hit someone?”
According to court documents, she replied, “I think I hit somebody.” The passenger said he told Howard to pull over. Someone flagged them down. When they stopped, they were told a scooter was underneath their car. A few people helped them dislodge the scooter before the police arrived.
Howard was transported to the IU Health Bloomington Hospital for a blood draw and then to the Bloomington Police Department for further questioning. At approximately 6:00 a.m. on Sunday, Bloomington Police were notified by hospital staff that Stratton had died as a result of his injuries sustained in the crash.
Stratton’s parents, Brad and Elizabeth, have a pending wrongful death lawsuit pending against Howard and the bar she was driving from, Kilroy’s Sports. Howard was employed at the bar and had left just before the crash happened. Stratton’s family seeks restitution for medical, funeral, and burial expenses.
