BLOOMINGTON – On Saturday, September 18th 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 was last seen traveling north on Walnut Street at a high rate of 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 badly 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 thereafter he was transported to IU Health Bloomington Hospital.
While Bloomington Police were on the scene, an officer with Indiana University Police Department located the fleeing vehicle at the intersection of 19th and Lincoln streets.
Bloomington Police responded to the scene and located the black 2012 Mercedes Benz car with damage to the windshield. They located the badly damaged electric scooter nearby.
A security officer that had been driving through the area advised officers that they had seen the car driving north on Lincoln Street and it sounded as if the car was dragging something. The security officer stated that the car stopped at the intersection of 19th and Lincoln streets and 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 of the vehicle that they were dragging an electric scooter under the car and the bystanders helped the driver remove it just prior to Indiana University Police arriving on the scene.
The driver of the vehicle was identified as 22-year-old Madelyn N. Howard, of Crown Point. She failed dexterity tests and was detained.
She was transported to the IU Health Bloomington Hospital for a blood draw, then to the Bloomington Police Department for further questioning. At approximately 6 a.m., Bloomington Police were notified by hospital staff that Stratton had died as a result of injuries sustained in the crash.
Investigators were able to view security camera footage from a business located near the scene of the crash and the involved vehicle can be seen driving by at the time of the crash with the passenger side tires up on the sidewalk on the east side of Walnut Street. The vehicle appears to be traveling at a high rate of speed and an individual on the sidewalk can be seen jumping into the grass to avoid being struck by the vehicle just prior to it striking the victim on the scooter.
Madelyn Howard was transported to the Monroe County Jail and remanded on charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated resulting in death, a Level 4 felony, and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in serious bodily injury or death, a Level 3 felony.
The Bloomington Police Department is extremely appreciative of the assistance provided by the Indiana University Police Department, the Indiana State Police, and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department.
No further information is available to be released at this time.
