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Preliminary exam Thursday for state health director charged in Flint water investigation

Michigan Health and Human Services Dept. Director Nick Lyon
State of Michigan
Michigan Health and Human Services Dept. Director Nick Lyon

Tomorrow, a judge will begin hearing the prosecution’s case against State Health Department Director Nick Lyon.  

It’s the first preliminary exam in the ongoing criminal investigation of the Flint water crisis.

Nick Lyon is charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with a deadly Legionnaires' Disease outbreak in Genesee County in 2014 and 2015. The outbreak killed at least 12 people.

Lyon is te highest-profile defendant in the Flint water investigation, but Special Counsel Todd Flood downplayed the importance of this week’s hearing.

“They are all important,” says Flood. “Every case stands on its own.”

More than a dozen current and former government officials have been criminally charged in the Flint water probe.  Their preliminary hearings will take place between now and January.

Flood expects trials will begin in 2018.  

Copyright 2017 Michigan Radio

Steve Carmody has been a reporter for Michigan Radio since 2005. Steve previously worked at public radio and television stations in Florida, Oklahoma and Kentucky, and also has extensive experience in commercial broadcasting. During his two and a half decades in broadcasting, Steve has won numerous awards, including accolades from the Associated Press and Radio and Television News Directors Association. Away from the broadcast booth, Steve is an avid reader and movie fanatic. Q&A