LANSING, Mich. — Michigan’s chief medical executive will stand trial on involuntary manslaughter and other charges in a criminal investigation of the Flint water crisis, a judge ruled Friday.
Dr. Eden Wells is among five people facing an involuntary manslaughter charge in connection to an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in the Flint area in 2014 and 2015. Wells is now the second high-ranking state official, along with Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon, to be ordered to trial .
Wells, a member of Gov. Rick Snyder’s Cabinet, leaned of the trial decision from Judge William Crawford II while inside a Flint courtroom. Wells has denied any wrongdoing, and her attorney say she had no legal duty to warn the public and worked diligently to investigate and resolve Flint’s water issues.
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette charged Wells last year with obstruction of justice and lying to the police, and he later added the manslaughter charge. Schuette has said key officials, including Wells, knew about a spike in Legionnaires’ but waited too long to tell the public.