Oakland Twp. woman who fled to Thailand after fatal hit-and-run pleads no contest

A 57-year-old Oakland Township woman accused of fatally striking a Michigan State University student on New Year's Day and then fleeing to Thailand has pleaded no contest, according to court records.

Tubtim "Sue" Howson's plea on Wednesday in Oakland Circuit Court means she'll avoid a trial. She will be sentenced at 1 p.m. July 26 and faces up to five years in prison.

Howson is accused of hitting Benjamin Kable, 22, shortly before dawn on Jan. 1, 2023 on Rochester Road, south of Whims Lane. The fatal incident occurred after an Uber driver dropped off Kable on the side of the road following a New Year's Eve party.

Howson, a Thai American, allegedly never called police and on Jan. 3 flew on a one-way ticket to Finland, where she caught a connecting flight to Bangkok, Thailand, authorities said.

She was finally arrested several weeks after the crash with the help of Thai law enforcement officials, the FBI and U.S. Marshals after officials obtained a description of the vehicle and a tip led to identifying Howson as a suspect.

Authorities reported on Feb. 24 that Howson had voluntarily returned to the United States. She was extradited to the United States and arraigned in March in Oakland County on one count of failure to stop at the scene of an accident resulting in death.

During a news conference in February in Thailand, Howson said she was driving to work in the dark and thought she had struck a deer. She said she spotted a body, tried to call police but didn't due to shock.

“I did not think I would run away, but I was very shocked. I tried to call the police but my hands were shaking. I could not do anything,” she said at a news conference.

Kable's family was relieved when Howson was located in Thailand earlier this year and agreed to come back to the United States to face criminal proceedings, saying their son would "finally get some justice." Kable, known as Ben or BK to friends, was a senior at MSU.

"God answered our prayers for Ben," Michael Kable, Benjamin's father, told The News in February.

Associated Press contributed.

jaimery@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @wordsbyjakkar