MI - Two children killed when drunk driver crashes into birthday party - April 21, 2024

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BetteDavisEyes said:
MC's attorney claims that she has never had a traffic ticket and that she "drives like an old lady".

www.detroitnews.com

Monroe Co. woman charged with murder in boat club crash that 'took those babies from us'

Defense: Marshella Chidester suffered temporary paralysis for which she was treated earlier on the day of the accident.
www.detroitnews.com
...Bill Colovos, Chidester's attorney, said his client has no record and is retired, living a “peaceful life.”

“In 60 years on this earth, she’s never had any traffic involvement, she’s never had any law enforcement involvement,” Colovos said. “It’s horrible what happened, absolutely horrible …, but some things we don’t have control over.”

He said Chidester drives “like a little old lady” and has a history since November of having epileptic-type seizures in her legs that result in paralysis. She was treated for it that day, he said...
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No matter how good she appears she drank when she shouldn’t have, She’s the only one that had control . Her control killed two innocent children . She deserves the death penalty for the lives she took away. IMO
 
ilovewings said:
Her attorney is alleging she has had seizures since November an is on Medication: if true, and I don't know if it is true, would a doctor give her permission to drive? I wouldn't think she would be allowed to drive: a newly diagnosed seizure patient and on meds to control the seizures. The medical records in this case will be important. Also, if in fact she was on seizure meds, I would think she would have been advised not to drink alcohol.
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It's complicated. There are different types of seizures, including alcohol withdrawal seizures. Alcohol can suppress seizure activity and withdrawal from alcohol or drinking less than your body is used to can cause a seizure. Of course there are other causes of seizures and we don't know what she had. But if she was diagnosed in November, then driving would depend on state laws. Most states say 6 months of no driving. That would bring us to April so if MI is one of those states, then she could have been fine to drive as long as she was taking the seizure med.
 
BetteDavisEyes said:
MC's attorney claims that she has never had a traffic ticket and that she "drives like an old lady".

www.detroitnews.com

Monroe Co. woman charged with murder in boat club crash that 'took those babies from us'

Defense: Marshella Chidester suffered temporary paralysis for which she was treated earlier on the day of the accident.
www.detroitnews.com
...Bill Colovos, Chidester's attorney, said his client has no record and is retired, living a “peaceful life.”

“In 60 years on this earth, she’s never had any traffic involvement, she’s never had any law enforcement involvement,” Colovos said. “It’s horrible what happened, absolutely horrible …, but some things we don’t have control over.”

He said Chidester drives “like a little old lady” and has a history since November of having epileptic-type seizures in her legs that result in paralysis. She was treated for it that day, he said...
Click to expand...
She had control over it, she could have chosen not to drive
 
www.clickondetroit.com

Driver, bar sued by family of kids killed in Monroe County birthday party crash

The family of two children killed Saturday when a suspected drunk driver crashed into a birthday party in Monroe County is suing the driver.
www.clickondetroit.com www.clickondetroit.com

The lawsuit filed by the mother of the two deceased children and her surviving son indicates that MC was visibly intoxicated, and that Verna's Tavern served her alcohol anyway. Her attorney insists that she had a single glass of wine at the establishment but doesn't mention that she had been drinking prior to 11:00AM or was still intoxicated from the previous day/night. Much more to come about MC's condition prior to arriving at the tavern at 11:00AM.
 
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KooshBall said:
If she had been suffering from seizures then the Dr treating her should have contacted DMV to revoke her driving privileges. She should still be in as much legal trouble if she was driving knowing she had seizures, imo. It's still just as selfish and reckless as drunk driving. Of course I believe she was wasted and seizures have nothing to do with the accident.
Click to expand...

her doctor did do that
she was not supposed to be driving until next month
as per this article

www.detroitnews.com

Monroe Co. woman charged with murder in boat club crash that 'took those babies from us'

Defense: Marshella Chidester suffered temporary paralysis for which she was treated earlier on the day of the accident.
www.detroitnews.com
 
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BeginnerSleuther said:
It's complicated. There are different types of seizures, including alcohol withdrawal seizures. Alcohol can suppress seizure activity and withdrawal from alcohol or drinking less than your body is used to can cause a seizure. Of course there are other causes of seizures and we don't know what she had. But if she was diagnosed in November, then driving would depend on state laws. Most states say 6 months of no driving. That would bring us to April so if MI is one of those states, then she could have been fine to drive as long as she was taking the seizure med.
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she shouldn't have been driving according to this:

Colovos said Chidester was barred by her doctor from driving for six months. The attorney said in court Tuesday that she was put on medication in November, which would have made her ineligible to drive until next month. Colovos told The Detroit News in a follow-up conversation that treatments began Oct. 1, when the original blackout episode occurred.

www.detroitnews.com

Monroe Co. woman charged with murder in boat club crash that 'took those babies from us'

Defense: Marshella Chidester suffered temporary paralysis for which she was treated earlier on the day of the accident.
www.detroitnews.com
 
Thank you BetteDavisEyes for covering this story for us. I am a former Michigander and am well familiar with this area, but I wouldn’t have seen this news at all where I live now.

I really hope this doesn’t go to trial, for the family of the children and all of those affected. Likely however it will, especially now because of the civil lawsuits.

MC appears to have had issues with alcohol for some time. That is also tragic. If it was obvious to people at the boat club, there are others who have also known she had a problem. Possibly family/friends who were aware and affected.
 
BetteDavisEyes said:
Noone seems to be rushing to post MC's $1.5M bond.
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I was wondering about this. The GoFund me for the family was over target as of last night. I’m sure financial support will help the family with their bills but is never going to make them whole again after this tragedy. I can’t even imagine.

MC’s arraignment was heart-breaking. I’ve never seen victims allowed to comment during an arraignment before. Is that something that has been common in other cases?

Please keep us posted on what you hear, if you are aware of news. And thank you again!
 
loreet said:
I was wondering about this. The GoFund me for the family was over target as of last night. I’m sure financial support will help the family with their bills but is never going to make them whole again after this tragedy. I can’t even imagine.

MC’s arraignment was heart-breaking. I’ve never seen victims allowed to comment during an arraignment before. Is that something that has been common in other cases?

Please keep us posted on what you hear, if you are aware of news. And thank you again!
Click to expand...
Former Wayne County Judge Vonda Evans was interviewed on Channel 4 yesterday regarding victims' remarks during the arraignment. I had been concerned about this causing problems in the future or in an appeal. Judge Evans said that it is not common but is an acceptable practice during bond hearings as long as the Judge is not swayed by the victims' statements and sets bond based on the law. She said that the Judge ruled on the law in setting the high bond for MC and nothing was wrong with it. I looked for the video of the interview but can't locate it on the WDIV website. There were audio issues during the interview, so that could be the reason the video isn't posted.
 
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I had the same concern re the judge being swayed by the comments of the family during the arraignment. It was very emotional. Prior to the victim statements, the judge had just begun to discuss the facts in support of a lower bond. It might *seem* as if he was predisposed to give her a lower bond. I thought maybe that is why the family spoke up? That is all perception though, not fact, and the judge may well have just not gotten to aggravating factors yet.

MC looked rough. Substance abuse issues and detox in county jail is rougher than at home and in your own bed.
 
ilovewings said:
www.clickondetroit.com

Monroe woman charged in deadly birthday party crash out on bond

A woman charged with murder after allegedly crashing into a child’s birthday party in Monroe County while drunk was released on bond days later.
www.clickondetroit.com www.clickondetroit.com

Well she posted bond is out of jail.
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Thank you for this update. This is sobering. I have to believe Karma is coming for her or I would lose all faith in our justice system. It is going to take awhile though as this case works through the courts. The positive: She is now a pariah in the community. I hope they will not only confine her to the house but give her regular alcohol testing. Like daily. Or I believe there are drugs that will make people very sick if they drink alcohol? That would be more than fair.

ETA: Antabuse. That’s one of the medications that is given to alcoholics to keep them from drinking. I’m not sure if the court can require she take that?
 
ilovewings said:
Her attorney is alleging she has had seizures since November an is on Medication: if true, and I don't know if it is true, would a doctor give her permission to drive? I wouldn't think she would be allowed to drive: a newly diagnosed seizure patient and on meds to control the seizures. The medical records in this case will be important. Also, if in fact she was on seizure meds, I would think she would have been advised not to drink alcohol.
Click to expand...
IMO there are so many reasons she shouldn’t have been driving, defense will have a hard time with this. However, do we know what kind of seizures she has? It’s possible she has seizures from alcoholism.

Evidently, she was a known lush, so there would be plenty of evidence to that effect.
 
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