A Michigan woman has been ordered to stand trial in a crash that killed two brothers and injured several others who were at a rowing club celebrating a child’s birthday.
Marshella Chidester, 66, appeared in Monroe County Circuit Court on Thursday on two counts of second-degree murder and other charges in connection with the April 20 crash at the Swan Boat Club in Berlin Township, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Detroit.
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Authorities say Chidester had been drinking at the time of the crash. A deputy sheriff testified at Chidester’s preliminary hearing in Monroe County District Court on Thursday that a blood test he took at a hospital after the crash showed he had a blood alcohol content of 0.18 percent. The legal limit for operating a motor vehicle in Michigan is 0.08 percent.
This arrest warrant photo provided by the Monroe County, Michigan, Sheriff’s Office is of Marshella Chidester. The Michigan woman was ordered to stand trial Thursday, June 27, 2024, in the crash that killed two brothers and injured several others who were at a rowing club celebrating a child’s birthday. (Monroe County Sheriff’s Office via The Associated Press)
Police said Chidester told officers she was on her way to a birthday party at the rowing club, and she told one officer she “blacked out” while driving.
Surveillance camera footage played Thursday showed an SUV speeding down a dirt road leading to the rowing club and crashing into the building. After police arrived, police body camera footage showed the SUV coming to rest against a counter or wall as paramedics treated several people for injuries.
Monroe County Undersheriff Steven Schmidt testified that the scene was chaotic. “There were injuries everywhere,” he said, adding that a small child was on the ground and appeared not to be breathing.
The dead were 8-year-old Alana Phillips and her 4-year-old brother Zane Phillips. Among those injured were their mother, Mariah Dodds, and another brother.
Dodds testified that the party was being held for a friend’s 3-year-old child.
Defense attorney Bill Kolovos argued against the second-degree murder charge, saying there was no evidence that Chidester drove with the intent to cause death.
At Chidester’s arraignment in April, he said he had only had a glass of wine and a glass of chili four hours before the crash and that he had been suffering from “epileptic seizures in the legs” since November.
Prosecutor Jeff Yawkey argued at Chidester’s arraignment that friends and family corroborated that she had a substance abuse problem. Yawkey also said there was no evidence that Chidester had had a seizure before the accident.
Security camera footage from her home recorded moments before the crash and played in court Thursday showed Chidester stepping off her porch, holding on to the railing, and walking slowly toward her SUV parked next to her garage. As she reversed out of her driveway, the SUV reversed around the other side of the garage and struck a neighbor’s parked vehicle. The SUV then accelerated, past the garage, driveway and down the street.
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Detective Sergeant Jeff Hooper testified that Chidester’s home is about 500 feet from the boat club near Lake Erie.
Chidester’s arraignment in Circuit Court is scheduled for July 12.
