Woman fled to Thailand after alleged hit-and-run that killed MSU student Ben Kable, feds say

(FOX 2) - An Oakland Township woman has fled the U.S. to avoid prosecution for a fatal hit-and-run investigation in Oakland County.

Tubtim Howson is wanted in connection to a deadly crash after she allegedly struck a 22-year-old man on Jan. 1 while he was on holiday break from school. Later identified as Ben Kable of Shelby Township, he was walking on Rochester Road around 6 a.m. when he was struck.

The suspect driver stopped for a short period of time before fleeing the scene.

According to travel records reviewed by the FBI, Howson left Michigan two days later after purchasing a one-way ticket from Detroit Metro Airport to Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. From there, she boarded a flight that eventually took her to Thailand. 

She landed on Jan. 5.

The Oakland County Sheriff's Office was the original agency investigating the crash. They interviewed witnesses at the scene who were able to provide a description of the vehicle as well as the driver. One person told police they had encountered the driver at the scene before she fled. 

Car parts at the scene later led investigators to believe the vehicle used in the crash was a BMW 3 Series. Two days later, the sheriff's office learned of the possible location of the vehicle. It was registered to Howson.

Sheriff's deputies say Howson was traveling to Birmingham for work when she struck Kable.

RELATED: MSU student killed in hit-and-run in Oakland Township on holiday break

An unsealed complaint from the FBI states that Howson "allgedly 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.’"

A felony warrant had already been signed for a failure to stop at scene resulting in serious impairment or death charge. An FBI agent says probable cause exists to charge Howson for a felony of interstate flight to avoid prosecution.