Caitlyn Jenner has amended a counter-lawsuit she filed against one of the drivers involved in last year’s fatal crash on Malibu’s Pacific Coast Highway to include photographers, who she blamed for driving “recklessly.”
The Feb. 7, 2015 accident killed Kim Howe, 69, when Jenner rear-ended her Lexus — which was stopped behind a Prius at a traffic light on the PCH. The impact sent Howe’s sedan into oncoming traffic, where it was struck head-on by a Hummer. The counter-complaint by Jenner against the driver of the Prius, Jessica Steindorff, 30, notes she did not proceed when the light turned green — distracted by her cellphone — and was operating a vehicle with a suspended license.
Jenner settled the original lawsuit Steindorff filed against Jenner in December.
Now, according to court records obtained by ETonline, Jenner is going after photographers, which the lawsuit dubs “the Stalker Defendants.” Her cross-complaint claims they allegedly “were [stalking] Jenner, chasing Jenner and harassing Jenner throughout the day, up through the time of the incident.”
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“Stalker defendants and others acting in concert with them continuously, negligently and recklessly operated their vehicles tracking Jenner, speeding up to tailgate Jenner, [and] driving too close to take pictures.”
“Jenner was driving her vehicle consistent with all laws and speed limits,” the lawsuit states, even though police found Jenner to be driving at an unsafe speed, even if it was below the speed limit. Her lawyers claim that due to the photographer’s actions, Jenner was “visually distracted,” and argue that their conduct “did contribute to the cause of an accident, where seconds and split seconds mattered.”
Jenner herself was cleared of all criminal charges. The accident occurred prior to her transition and legal name change, as reports swirled that Jenner was going to come out as transgender. She confirmed that in a nationally-televised interview a few weeks after the crash.
The cross-complaint also maintains that the “Stalker Defendants” — and Steindorff — should be held “legally responsible for some or all of damages sought” by the driver and passenger in the Hummer that was involved in the multi-vehicle collision, who filed suit against Jenner in December.