A Michigan sheriff overseeing the investigation into a fatal hit-and-run crash says he's "absolutely" worried that the woman charged in the incident will try to avoid extradition by going to a country without an extradition treaty with the United States after she fled to Thailand to avoid prosecution.
Ben Kable, a Michigan State University student, died on Jan. 1 after a 2016 BMW 320i driven by Tubtim "Sue" Howson fatally hit him in Oakland Township, Michigan, at around 5:49 a.m., according to the Oakland County Sheriff's Office.
Kable was "in the roadway" when he was hit by the BMW, but it's not clear if he was "standing or walking in the roadway when he was hit," according to court documents, which state that Kable was visiting home on holiday break at the time. An accident report obtained by Fox News Digital shows that Kable was suspected to have been under the influence of alcohol, but it wasn't a "contributing factor" in the incident.
Howson stopped the BMW for a short amount of time before driving off, officials said. On Jan. 3, just two days after the incident which left Kable dead, Howson boarded a plane with stops in Dallas and Helsinki, Finland, arriving in Bangkok, Thailand, as her final destination, according to travel records reviewed by the FBI.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said in a statement on Facebook that his office is working with its partners at the FBI to extradite Howson back to the United States.
Bouchard told Fox News Digital that he's concerned Howson may try to travel to a country that doesn't have an extradition treaty.
"Absolutely," Bouchard said when asked if he's concerned Howson may try to flee to a country without an extradition treaty with the United States. "Any time you have someone that far across the country, any extradition is not a slam dunk… If she attempts to make some of those other moves, it's going to be much more difficult."
A felony warrant has been issued for Howson's alleged failure to stop at the scene of a crime resulting in serious impairment or death, and the FBI says there is probable cause to charge Howson for felony interstate flight to avoid prosecution.
"I guess our fondest hope and prayers are that the Thai government steps up and takes this person into the extradition process. She is a U.S. citizen, and it would be very helpful for them to do those kinds of things, to exercise whatever necessary resources are to move that process along."
Bouchard said that Howson had already fled the country before authorities knew who she even was. If given the chance, the sheriff also said that he'd be happy to escort Howson back to the US.
"If Thailand agrees to it, I would be more than happy to climb on a plane with one of our federal partners and escort her back to Oakland County, Michigan," Bouchard said.
When asked if he had a message for Howson, Bouchard said: "Turn yourself in."
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"Come back. Go to the American embassy in Thailand. Do the right thing. You know, things got worse because you fled the country. You know, extra charges were applied because you didn't stop at the scene. I mean, it's hard to say in totality what charges would have been levied had you just done the right thing. And there's still an opportunity to do the right thing," Bouchard said.
The sheriff also said that Howson's family has been "very supportive" of law enforcement's efforts to bring her back to the states, and are trying to encourage her to "do the right thing."
Thailand has an extradition treaty with the United States, but some neighboring countries don't.
An unsealed FBI complaint states that Howson "allegedly told a close associate after the crash that she thought she killed somebody and was going back to Thailand."
"When encouraged to turn herself in to police, Howson allegedly stated, ‘no cops, no cops,'" an FBI official wrote in the complaint.
Ben Kable's father, Mike, said in an interview with FOX 2 Detroit that he doesn't understand how Howson can live with herself after allegedly fleeing the scene.
"Just the lack of empathy and humanity it would take and then just plot your getaway… All we can do is cross our fingers that we get some justice," Mike Kable said.
Howson's husband told FOX 2 that "Two families have lost somebody here."
"Not my fault I wasn't even in the country," he said.
