Kasden’s criminal history includes convictions of drug possession and driving with drug intoxication.

After Thursday’s hearing, Austill’s father, Dr. Tom Richardson, said in an interview that his daughter was on her way to work at Walgreens when she was struck.

She was the oldest of three siblings, graduated from Butler University and the Goldfarb School of Nursing, and was studying for her board certifications at the time of he death. Her father said she was divorced with a 10-year-old son who died earlier of severe disabilities.

Richardson and Austill’s sister, Julie Logan, said it was frustrating for their family to wait nearly two years for charges to be filed, and that they were told it was because of a backlog of toxicology tests at a state crime lab. Her father said he hopes Kasden gets drug treatment while in prison but has doubts about Kasden’s ability to succeed when he gets out of prison.

“It’s something that could have been avoided if he had just chosen not to drive,” Richardson said.

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