Michigan Drunken Driver Who Killed 2 Kids at Birthday Party Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison

In a stunning crash that sent shockwaves through Monroe, Michigan, a 67-year-old woman was convicted of at least 25 years in prison for drunk driving and crashing into a children’s birthday party and killing two small children.

The devastating crash occurred at the Swan Boat Club, where it rests on Lake Erie, approximately 30 miles south of Detroit. The party-like celebrations initially began transformed into horrors afterwards after Marshella Chidester’s vehicle collided with the club side and took the lives of 8-year-old Alanah Phillips and 4-year-old Zayn Phillips.

Chidester was sentenced to at least 25 years on Thursday on two counts of second-degree murder. She had been convicted in March after a four-day trial, when the court was treated to graphic testimony about the crash and the extent of the loss of the family of the children.

Security tape video footage introduced into trial evidence indicated Chidester’s SUV moving down a dry, dirt road at around 44 mph before it crashed into the building where the party was being held. Evidence further indicated her blood alcohol level to be more than twice the legal limit, the clear indication of drunk driving.

The parents of the children, during sentencing, delivered emotional speeches, describing the total and irreparable loss of their son and daughter. Chidester was seated just a few feet away from them as the family spoke about the agony that has tormented them for the last year since the accident.

In her defense, her lawyer tried to excuse her behavior under a medical condition – a leg condition that might have caused her to unintentionally speed. The jury did not believe it, however, and elected to hold her accountable for choosing to drink and drive herself.

In her court testimony, Chidester offered a tearful apology and said, “I’ve prayed for the Lord to forgive me, and I ask you at least to look in your heart at some time if you can ever possibly forgive me, I would so much appreciate that.”

Her own personal connection to the Swan Boat Club only served to make the tragedy all the more poignant. She’d started it, she’d been a commodore, and she’d even had her wedding reception there. Her home of this sort was now a home remembered in grief.

With how young she is, the 25-year sentence will most probably have Chidester remain in prison for the rest of her life. With the current laws on the books, she won’t be eligible for parole until she is in her 90s, essentially giving her life imprisonment that she is facing.

The tragedy has once more placed drunk driving law and responsibility in the spotlight, especially in relation to deaths. Society is yet to accept the loss of Alanah and Zayn, whose precious lives were brutally cut short due to a preventable and irresponsible action.

The case is an eye-opener as to the inescapable damage inflicted through driving drunk and that the offenders of the same also need to be held entirely responsible for the damage incurred.