Caitlyn Jenner Car Crash: LA County Sheriff Denies Recommending Manslaughter Charge, Report Says

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department trashed media reports that claimed the agency will recommend that Caitlyn Jenner, formerly known as Bruce, be prosecuted for vehicular manslaughter for her role in the fatal car crash in Malibu, California, in February. The agency is set to submit its 161-page report on the crash to the Los Angeles County District Attorney next Wednesday and prosecutors will decide whether to file charges, TMZ reported Friday.

The latest report comes as a clarification to the one published Thursday, where TMZ reported that the sheriff’s department concluded its six-month investigation, saying that Jenner violated the vehicular manslaughter law. The report also said that the department believed that Jenner “set off a series of events” that led to Kim Howe's death. However, TMZ's Friday report denied that the agency made such recommendations.

The report added that lawmakers have been telling TMZ for months that there is a 50 percent chance that charges will be filed in the case. Law enforcement sources, however, said that even if Jenner is charged, it should be only for misdemeanor and not a felony.

However, the report said, citing sources, that there was a doubt whether Jenner will be prosecuted at all because her conduct was not too different from that of inattentive drivers. The only difference, they mentioned, was that the positioning of the cars sent the Lexus, which was being driven by 69-year-old Howe, into a fatal trajectory.

Jenner’s Escalade first hit the Lexus, and then continued down the road to hit a Prius driven by a woman named Jessica Steindorff. Howe’s stepchildren have sued Jenner, who was taken away by police after the accident. While such cases are usually taken to the District Attorney's closest satellite in Van Nuys district, this case was taken to the Major Crimes Division at the main office in downtown LA because the person is a celebrity.