An intoxicated driver was charged with murder after crashing into a Michigan business where a child's birthday party was being held and killing two young siblings, authorities announced Tuesday.
Marshella Chidester, 66, hit a building at Swan Boat Club in Berlin Charter Township around 3 p.m. on Saturday. It came to a stop 25 feet inside where the party was taking place, Monroe County Sheriff Troy Goodnough told reporters Saturday.
In an arraignment hearing Tuesday, Chidester was charged with two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of operating under the influence of alcohol causing death and four counts of operating under the influence of alcohol causing serious injury. Her bond was set at $1.5 million. If convicted, Chidester could be sentenced to up to life in prison.
Zayn Phillips, 4, and his sister, Alanah Phillips, 8, were declared dead at the scene, Goodnough said in an update Monday. The sheriff's office previously reported that Zayn was 5-years-old.
A third sibling survived with “severe injuries," according to Andrew Brodie, the superintendent of Flat Rock Community Schools, an area public school district.
At the arraignment, Bill Colovos, an attorney for Chidester, said she has a history of epileptic seizures in her legs and lost control of the car when she crashed. He also said that his client only had one glass of wine four hours before the crash, according to a search warrant executed at the bar where she allegedly was.
"This is not a monster," Colovos said about his client, adding that she doesn't have a criminal history. "It’s horrible what happened, absolutely horrible. I have two children. It's absolutely horrible. But some things we don’t have control over."
Chidester was seen in court with a cast on her right arm, wearing a striped white and black prison uniform.
Monroe County Prosecuting Attorney Jeffery A. Yorkey refuted the claim that Chidester had a seizure during the crash and said that "her blood alcohol level was significantly over the legal limit." He didn't mention what her blood alcohol level was.
"There is no indication, whatsoever, in any of the evidence that we have uncovered in this case, that the defendant suffered from a seizure at the time of this incident," Yorkey said during the hearing.
"She indicated herself that she had some seizure issues and she was on some medication, and that she wasn't supposed to be drinking, but admitted that she had been drinking that day," Yorkey said.
A woman who identified herself as the grandmother of Zayn and Alanah spoke at the arraignment, accusing Chidester of drinking and driving.
"She chose to drink and drive and she took my grandbabies from us," the woman said.
A woman who identified herself as the aunt of the two children said she was at the scene of the crash, and saw her niece and nephew in their final moments.
"They walked into that birthday party having a fun time," she said. "They were sitting at that table, eating, and this woman crashed her car through this building, destroying all of our lives. Not just my family, everyone else that was in that building."
She says her other nephew and her sister, the children's mother, were hurt in the crash and are still fighting for their lives.
"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.
Zayn's birthday was coming up next month, according to Monroe County Undersheriff Joe Hammond.
"We were supposed to be planning a birthday party for Zayn, not a funeral," the child's aunt said.
Approximately 13 others were injured in the crash, Goodnough said on Saturday. Nine of those people, who range in age from 11 to 66-years-old, were hospitalized, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
Five remain in critical condition, including an 11-year-old boy, a 14-year-old boy, a 16-year-old girl, an 18-year-old woman and a 31-year-old woman.
The four other victims, who range in age from 57 to 70, had minor injuries. A 42-year-old man also received treatment on his own for minor injuries.
Chidester's next court appearance is scheduled for April 30.
