Charges filed in death of Shelby Twp. man

Woman accused in hit-run fled fled U.S. last month

The suspect in a hit-and-run that killed a Michigan State University student on New Year’s Day in Oakland County has been named in a federal warrant accusing her of fleeing the United States to avoid prosecution.

Tubtim “Sue” Howson, 57, faces local and federal charges in the Jan.1 crash in Oakland Township that killed 22-year-old Benjamin Kable.

According to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, Kable, of Shelby Township, was struck on Rochester Road south of Whims Lane at approximately 5:49 a.m. and pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators say Howson was driving her 2016 BMW 320i on the way to a grocery store when she hit Kable, who was either standing or walking in the roadway at the time.

Investigators tracked Howson to Bangkok, Thailand on Jan. 5, determining she left Detroit two days earlier. Her itinerary included stops in Dallas and Helsinki, Finland, the sheriff’s office said.

A federal warrant charging Howson with interstate flight to avoid prosecution — a 5-year felony — was signed Feb. 7 by Magistrate Anthony Patti of U.S. District Court-Eastern District of Michigan. On Feb. 2, Oakland County prosecutors charged Howson with failure to stop at the scene of an accident resulting in death, also a 5-year felony.

The sheriff’s office said it’s working closely with the FBI to return Howson to Michigan, and the FBI is trying to locate her.

“I am proud of the work our team did to identify this individual and learn that she had fled the country right after the accident,” Sheriff Michael Bouchard stated Wednesday in a news re

lease. “We immediately engaged our partners at the FBI to keep them in the loop as we sought warrants so that they in turn could seek federal warrants for flight. I call on the Thai government to extradite her so we can hold her accountable for her actions involving this young man’s tragic death.”

James Tarasca, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office, stated in the news release that the sheriff’s office “has worked tirelessly to identify the person responsible for the death of Benjamin Kable.”

“The FBI is now assisting in the effort to locate that person. We value our strong partnership with Sheriff Bouchard and the men and women of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, and we will provide all necessary resources to return Tubtim Howson to Oakland County and bring her to justice,” he stated.