Caitlyn Jenner Discusses Deadly Crash, Transition Regrets and Halloween Costume on Today

Talking about possible charges in her car crash, she reflects on the situation of transgender women in jail.

Caitlyn Jenner remembers little about her involvement in a multicar accident last February that took one woman’s life, she told Matt Lauer in an interview that aired this morning on the Today show.

“I remember it happening. That’s about it,” she said of the February 7 accident on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, Calif. “A tragedy like this, you’ll never get over it. You just learn to live with it the best you possibly can.”

When Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies completed their investigation last month, a detective said there was a “50/50” chance that Jenner would face a criminal charge in the accident, but so far no charges have been filed against anyone. If one is filed against Jenner, the charge would most likely be misdemeanor-level manslaughter, the detective said.

Jenner is a plaintiff in two civil lawsuits regarding the crash, another factor that prevents her from talking about it in detail, as she noted to Lauer.

In the accident, Jenner’s Cadillac Escalade rear-ended Kimberly Howe’s car, pushing it into oncoming traffic, where it was struck head-on by a Hummer. After rear-ending Howe, Jenner also rear-ended a Prius driven by Jessica Steindorff. Howe, 69, died in the crash, and several people were injured. Howe’s stepchildren have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Jenner, and Steindorff has filed a personal injury suit against her.

Jenner was driving under the speed limit, she told Lauer, but sheriff’s deputies have said she was driving too fast for the rainy conditions that day — something with which Jenner took issue.

The usual sentence for misdemeanor-level manslaughter is a year in the county jail. About the possibility of going to jail, Jenner told Lauer, “The media wants that picture, don’t they? That is the worst-case scenario. I don’t know. We’ll see. The men’s county jail. It is an enormous problem that they would put trans women in a men’s county jail.”

The L.A. County Men’s Central Jail, by the way, does have a special wing for gay and transgender inmates, and while such segregation is controversial, the arrangement has reportedly protected gay and trans inmates from violence.

In the wide-ranging interview with Lauer, Jenner discussed the controversy over her selection as winner of the ESPYs’ Arthur Ashe Courage Award, and revealed she has no regrets about no longer living as a man. “There’s nothing more, nothing better in life to wake up in the morning, look at yourself in the mirror, and feel comfortable with yourself and who you are,” she said.

And as for reports of Caitlyn Jenner Halloween costumes that have sparked controversy, Jenner acknowledged that while members of "the community" are upset about it, she said she's not offended. "I think it's great!"

Watch below.