A Michigan woman was charged on Tuesday with second-degree murder and other offenses after authorities claim she crashed her SUV into a yacht club hosting a child’s birthday party, killing a small brother and sister and injuring numerous others.
About the incident
The event occurred at the Swan Creek Boat Club in Berlin Township, Michigan, and took the lives of two innocent children, Lana, 8, and Zayn, 5, while their mother, Mariah Dodds, and elder brother, Jayden, were fighting for their lives.
“They stepped inside that birthday party and had a good time. They were eating at that table when this woman smashed her car into this structure, shattering all of our lives,” the aunt of the 8- and 4-year-old children told reporters on Tuesday.
Harrowing photographs from the aftermath of the disaster show strewn balloons and celebration cups among the ruins. The woman’s vehicle crashed with the building, causing it to move an additional 25 feet inward due to eits velocity.
Bond set at $1.5 million for driver
District Judge Christian Horkey set Chidester’s bond at $1.5 million. Her next court appearance is set on Wednesday morning, according to the prosecutor’s office.
The judge granted bond after hearing emotional pleas from several family members, who addressed both inside the courtroom and over video link.
Ms. Chidester faces four charges of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, causing serious injury, two counts of operating while intoxicated and causing death, and two counts of second-degree murder from operating a motor vehicle. If found guilty of the murder charges, she would be sentenced to life in prison.
During the arraignment, defense attorney Bill Colovos did not submit a plea to any of the counts.