The chief of staff of MSU’s Residence Halls Association was charged Thursday with negligent homicide after he was involved in a fatal vehicle crash Aug. 9.
Samuel M. Beadle, a supply chain management junior, was leaving an RHA retreat when he allegedly made an improper turn onto M-115 in Thompsonville, Mich., and killed a woman.
He was driving an MSU Chrysler minivan from Crystal Mountain when he crashed into Nancy Geary of Canton, Benzie County sheriff’s Sgt. David Tucker said.
Geary, 54, died in the crash. Four other passengers in her vehicle were treated at the scene or sent to Munson Medical Center and released, Tucker said.
There were no other passengers in Beadle’s vehicle.
No alcohol or drugs were involved in the crash, Beadle’s attorney Roger Wotila said.
“It was an accident, and very unfortunate,” Wotila said.
The charge, which was brought in Benzie County’s 85th District Court, is a high court misdemeanor offense.
“Sam is very, very saddened by what happened,” Wotila said.
Beadle pleaded not guilty to the offense. The next step is being discussed with authorities, Wotila said.
Benzie County Prosecutor Anthony Cicchelli was not available for comment Thursday.
Beadle has and will continue working as RHA chief of staff, said RHA President Mark Dobson.
“It’s a personal matter in a lot of ways,” Dobson said. “It hasn’t made an impact in his work on campus.”
Dobson addressed the situation at RHA’s first meeting on Sept. 3.
“Sam Beadle, our chief of staff, was involved in a car accident. Unfortunately, there was a fatality in the other vehicle involved,” he said in a statement.
“It is stressed that no drugs or alcohol were involved; it was a genuine accident.”
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