Michigan driver accused of killing two children after crashing into birthday party appears in court

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A woman accused of crashing her car into a boat club that was hosting a birthday party, killing two children and injuring 13 others, has appeared in court.

Marshella Chidester, 66, appeared in court in Michigan where a new hearing was scheduled for late June in First District Court in Monroe. It had originally been slated for Monday, but her defence team requested that it be delayed because of the amount of discovery involved in the case.

Presiding Judge Michael Brown changed the dates to 27 and 28 June. Proceedings are to start at 8.30am both days, according to The Blade.

The incident at the centre of the case happened on 20 April. Ms Chidester is accused of crashing her car into the Swan Boat Club, killing Alanah Phillips, eight, and Zayn Phillips, four, siblings from Flat Rock, Michigan. Ms Childester was allegedly intoxicated at the time of the incident. She is a past commodore of the boat club.

Several witnesses are expected to be called in the case, with the defence calling at least two. The examination is set to last a full day and potentially go into a second.

The charges against Ms Chidester are two counts of second-degree vehicular homicide, operating a vehicle under the influence causing death and four counts of operating a vehicle under the influence causing serious injury.

She is currently not in custody and has posted $1.5m in bond following an arraignment last week.

The children were celebrating a birthday party for Zayn, who was about to turn five, when the crash occurred. Several relatives were at the venue at the time of the incident. The children’s mother, Mariah Dodd, is suing the suspect and a restaurant called Verna’s Tavern, claiming that the establishment continued to serve Ms Chidester even when she was visibly intoxicated. Both the mother and her 11-year-old child survived the crash.

A receipt of Ms Chidester’s purchases from the bar include a bowl of soup and a glass of wine, Angie Huffman, whose mother owns the tavern, told the Detroit Free Press. She said she’s confident the restaurant is “not at fault”.