As a lawsuit ensues against Kimberly Hostetler, an English sophomore who was driving the car that struck two women on Chandler Road in October, officials have determined the 19-year-old was not at fault.
Bath Township police released a report Monday, which Clinton County Prosecutor Charles Sherman reviewed, detailing the accident that killed elementary education and child development sophomore Clare McCormick and injured 19-year-old former MSU student Ashlee Nichols.
The two women were walking along Chandler Road near the Village at Chandler Crossings at 5:05 a.m. on Oct. 19.
Sherman said the report found that the two women were wearing dark clothing while walking "essentially in the middle" of Chandler Road that night, making it extremely difficult for any driver to see them.
The report also showed Hostetler was driving between 35 and 42 mph, while the speed limit at the collision site was 55 mph, Sherman said.
"I looked at the case strictly from the point of view of the driver of the vehicle," Sherman said. "I determined there was nothing Hostetler could have done to avoid the collision. I felt she was not negligent."
Bath Township police Sgt. Scott Rose said no criminal charges will be filed against Hostetler.
Officials will conduct further investigations into the accident, including an ongoing search to determine who supplied McCormick and Nichols with alcohol that night, Rose said.
"We hope to seek charges in the near future," Rose said. "Our responsibility now is to determine what happened with respect to an alcohol violation."
Rose said the incident was the only car accident that caused a fatality in Bath Township in 2002.
On March 31, the Nichols family filed a $5 million lawsuit against the developers of the Village at Chandler Crossings apartments, citing the complex's lack of sidewalks and sufficient lighting as contributing factors in the crash.
The suit also seeks damages from Hostetler, a Genessee County native, and her mother Carol Hostetler, the owner of the car.
Gene Turnwald, an attorney for the Nichols, said he agrees the driver should not be found criminally liable, and the apartment complex developers are at fault.
Nearly six months after the collision, Nichols continues to recuperate from her injuries, he said.
"She's going to feel the results and impacts of this accident for the rest of her life," Turnwald said. "There is enough blame to go around for everyone in this case, but she continues to suffer."
Mike Guss of Flint, an attorney for the Hostetlers, said he "absolutely agrees" with authorities ruling out Hostetler as being the cause of the crash.
"Police have testified it was definitely an accident, and my client did nothing wrong," he said, adding there is "little merit" to the lawsuit.
"It is a tragedy for all involved, but I could not imagine what she could do to avoid this. They are grief-stricken.
"Hopefully this will come to an end, sooner rather than later."
