Judge Orders Michigan Health Director to Face Trial Over Flint Water Crisis Deaths

Photo: Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon, seen here speaking to the press about the Flint water crisis in 2016, will be the highest ranking official to stand trial over the public health disaster. Brett Carlsen / Getty Images

Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon will be the highest ranking official to go to trial so far as a result of an investigation into the Flint water crisis, The Associated Press reported Monday.

Judge David Goggins ruled Monday there was probable cause for Lyon to stand trial for involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of Robert Skidmore and John Snyder that prosecutors say were due to a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak that Lyon was aware of a year before he alerted Michigan’s governor, Michigan Live reported.

Lyons is also charged with misconduct in office. "We’re looking at today as the first step and the next step for justice for the moms and the dads and the kids of Flint, specifically for the families of Mr. Snyder and Mr. Skidmore," spokesperson for Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, Andrea Bitely, told The Detroit News.

Schuette’s office is conducting an ongoing investigation into what happened when the Flint River […]

Full article: Judge Orders Michigan Health Director to Face Trial Over Flint Water Crisis Deaths

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