On Tuesday, April 23, 2024, officials arraigned an intoxicated Michigan driver on second-degree murder and other charges. According to court documents, the woman drunkenly crashed her SUV into a boat club that was hosting a child’s birthday party. The accident left two hound siblings dead and injured several other people.
Marshella Chidester, 66, did not enter a plea to the eight counts she faces for the tragic crash. The drunk woman reportedly hit a building at Swan Boat Club in Monroe County at about 3 pm on Saturday, April 20. However, the car stopped 25 feet inside the party, Monroe County Sheriff Troy Goodnough told reporters.
In an arraignment hearing on Tuesday, prosecutors charged Chidester with two counts of second-degree murder. They also charged her with two counts of operating under the influence of alcohol, causing death. Furthermore, they charged her with four counts of operating under the influence of alcohol, causing serious injury.
The court set her bond at $1.5 million. However, prosecutor Jeff Yorkey contested the bond, citing the defendant’s past. Yorkey told the court that Chidester has had substance abuse issues that her friends and family corroborated.
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On the other hand, defense attorney Bill Colovos asked the judge to set Chidester’s bond at $100,000. He said she only had a glass of wine and a bowl of chili four hours before the crash. Also, Colovos said she has struggled with “epileptic-type seizures in her legs since November.”
“This is not a monster,” Colovos said. “It’s horrible what happened, but there are some things we don’t have control over.” Colovos added that before Saturday’s crash, Chidester had no traffic tickets or police record. Yorkey responded that there was no indication that Chidester suffered a seizure before the crash.
Also, the prosecutor said testing showed her blood alcohol level was “significantly over the legal limit.” Following the tragic accident on Saturday, authorities declared Zayn Phillips, 4, and his sister, Alanah Phillips, 8, dead at the scene.
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Notably, the sheriff’s office initially reported that Zayn was 5-years-old. According to Andrew Brodie, the Flat Rock Community Schools’ superintendent, a third sibling survived with “severe injuries.” Chidester appeared in court with a cast on her right arm, wearing a white and black prison uniform.
A woman who identified herself as the grandmother of Zayn and Alanah spoke at the arraignment. She accused the Michigan woman of drinking and driving. “She chose to drink and drive, and she took my grandbabies from us,” the woman said.
Another woman who identified as the two children’s aunt said she was at the crash scene. She claimed she saw her niece and nephew in their final moments. “They walked into that birthday party having a fun time,” she said.
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“They were sitting at that table, eating, and this woman crashed her car through this building, destroying all of our lives.” The woman added, “Not just my family, everyone else that was in that building.” Furthermore, the woman noted that the crash hurt her other nephew and her sister, the children’s mother.
“I had to be the one to tell my sister her babies were gone when they removed her ventilator yesterday,” the woman said. “She said, ‘How am I supposed to live without my babies?” “No one should ever have to go to a birthday party thinking that they’re gonna die,” she said tearfully.
According to Monroe County Undersheriff Joe Hammond, Zayn’s birthday was next month. “We were supposed to be planning a birthday party for Zayn, not a funeral,” the child’s aunt said. Chidester hasn’t entered a plea in the case. However, if convicted, she faces up to life in prison.
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