This story has been updated.
A 20-year-old riding an electric scooter was struck by a vehicle early Sunday morning and later died from his injuries.
According to a Bloomington Police Department news release, officers responded to a call around 1:50 a.m. Sunday at the intersection of Walnut and 12 th Street in Bloomington that a vehicle had struck IU student Nathaniel Stratton and fled the scene at a high rate of speed.
Stratton was transported to IU Health Bloomington Hospital, where he died as a result of his injuries at approximately 6 a.m.
An IU police department officer located the vehicle described by witnesses at the intersection of 19 th and Lincoln. The black, 2012 Mercedes-Benz had damage to the windshield, and officers found a badly damaged scooter nearby, according to the release.
A security officer driving through the area told officers they had seen the passenger car “driving northbound on Lincoln Street and it sounded as if the car was dragging something.” The security officer told police that after the car stopped, the female driver and male passenger got out of the car. The security officer said individuals nearby told them they were dragging an electric scooter and helped the driver remove the scooter just prior to IUPD arriving.
Read more: IU freshman dies in e-scooter crash
The driver of the vehicle, identified as 22-year-old Madelyn N. Howard of Crown Point, failed dexterity tests and was taken into custody. Howard was taken to the hospital for a blood draw, then to the Bloomington Police Department for further questioning.
Investigators viewed security camera footage from business near the crash site and said it showed the involved vehicle “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.”
Howard was transported to the Monroe County Jail and charged with 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 While Intoxicated, a level 3 felony.
Read more: Electric scooters continue to cause buzz in Bloomington budget hearings
This story has been updated to include the name of the victim.
