A drunk driver accused of crashing his SUV into a Michigan boat club over the weekend, killing two brothers, appeared in court Tuesday with his right arm in a cast.
Marcella Chidester, 66, appeared in court on Saturday facing eight charges after a fatal crash that killed 8-year-old Lana Phillips and her 5-year-old brother Zane.
Chidester appeared at the First District Court in Monroe, Michigan, with his right arm in a cast from the elbow to his fingers.
She is charged with two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of driving under the influence resulting in death, and four counts of driving under the influence causing serious bodily injury.
Prosecutors in the case insisted that the woman be held on $1.5 million bail, citing substance abuse issues, so she did not take a plea deal.
Defense attorney Bill Kolobos countered that Chidester’s bail should be $100,000.
According to the paper, Kolovos claimed that Chidester had only consumed one glass of wine and one cup of chili in the four hours before the fatal accident, and that he had been suffering from “epileptic-type seizures in the legs” since November.
“This is not a monster,” Kolovos said. “What happened was horrible, but there are some things we can’t control.”
Chidester is accused of killing two young siblings and seriously injuring 13 others during a birthday party at a Michigan boat club on Saturday.
Monroe County Sheriff Troy Goodnow previously said the horror happened around 3 p.m. when a 66-year-old woman tore the Swan Creek Boat Club, where children and their parents were enjoying the festivities, from a height of about 8 meters. He said he crashed the plane.
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