Bruce Jenner's car crash that killed an elderly woman is unlikely to land him a vehicular manslaughter charge, as some news outlets had previously suggested.
People magazine reported that Jenner, 65, was driving a black Cadillac Escalade with an attached trailer when he rear-ended a Lexus on the Pacific Coast Highway near Malibu, pushing the vehicle and its 70-year-old driver into oncoming traffic. A Hummer traveling southbound then plowed into the Lexus, killing the woman.
"The person in the Lexus has cause of action against Jenner," James Fox, an attorney specializing in motor vehicle crashes, told the magazine. "Jenner is definitely up to his ears in liability here."
Fox made it clear, however, that Jenner is likely to face criminal charges. He was obviously following too closely, but that is not by itself worthy of such a serious charge.
"If he's going at a really excessive speed, if he's under the influence of alcohol or a drug, if he's texting, these would certainly be things that a prosecutor would want to explore, but most drivers that are involved in fatality crashes – even when it's their fault – are not charged with vehicular manslaughter," said Fox.
TMZ reported that a bus camera caught the incident on video, and that people who've seen it say that the former Olympian and patriarch of the Kardashian family is clearly at fault. One person familiar with the video said Jenner hit the Lexus "violently."
Jenner, who is widely reported to be transitioning to womanhood and documenting the experience for a television show, released a statement following the Feb. 7 crash expressing his regret.
"My heartfelt and deepest sympathies go out to the family and loved ones, and to all of those who were involved or injured in this terrible accident," he said. "It is a devastating tragedy and I cannot pretend to imagine what this family is going through at this time. I am praying for them. I will continue to cooperate in every way possible."
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