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IU student riding electric scooter killed in hit-and-run; driver arrested for OWI

Security camera footage showed a person on the sidewalk jumping into the grass to avoid being hit by the car just before the car hit the student on the scooter.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Bloomington police arrested a 22-year-old woman Sunday morning after she allegedly hit and killed an Indiana University student riding an electric scooter.

The student who died was identified as Nathaniel Stratton, 20, of Miromar Lakes, FL. The Monroe County Coroner said an autopsy will be conducted on Tuesday in Terre Haute to confirm the cause of death.

Police responded to a report of a crash at the intersection of North Walnut and East 12th streets shortly before 2 a.m. Multiple witnesses told police the vehicle involved in the crash left the scene and went north on North Walnut Street at a high rate of speed.

Police arrived and found a man, later identified as Stratton, lying along the road near the intersection. Stratton was taken to IU Health Bloomington Hospital but died from his injuries.

As police were investigating at the scene, an officer with the Indiana University Police Department found the suspect vehicle a half-mile away at the intersection of 19th and Lincoln streets.

Bloomington police officers arrived and saw a black 2012 Mercedes-Benz with damage to the windshield, as well as a badly damaged electric scooter nearby.

A security officer who was driving through the area told police they saw a car driving north on Lincoln Street, and it sounded like the car was dragging something.

According to the security officer, the car stopped at the intersection of 19th and Lincoln streets, and a woman got out of the driver's seat and a man got out of the front passenger seat.

That's when the security officer told police they heard people nearby tell the driver and front-seat passenger they were dragging an electric scooter under their car. The security officer said the bystanders helped the driver remove the scooter from underneath her car just before IUPD arrived at the scene.

Credit: Monroe County Correctional Center
Madelyn Howard, 22, of Crown Point.

Police said the driver, identified as 22-year-old Madelyn N. Howard, of Crown Point, failed dexterity tests and was taken into custody. Howard was taken to IU Health Bloomington Hospital for a blood draw, and then, was taken to the Bloomington Police Department for questioning.

Security camera footage from a business near where the crash happened showed the car's passenger-side tires on the sidewalk east of Walnut Street. Police said the car appeared to be going fast, and a person on the sidewalk was seen jumping into the grass to avoid being hit by the car just before the car hit the person on the electric scooter.

Howard was taken to the Monroe County Jail on the following charges: 

  • Operating a vehicle while intoxicated resulting in death — Level 4 felony
  • Leaving the scene of an accident resulting in serious bodily injury or death while intoxicated — Level 3 felony

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