The alleged drunk driver accused of crashing her SUV into a Michigan boat club fatally striking two siblings over the weekend appeared in court Tuesday with her right arm in a cast.
Marshella Chidester, 66, was in court facing the eight counts she faces following Saturday’s deadly crash that killed 8-year-old Lana Phillips and her 5-year-old brother Zayn.
Chidester appeared at her arrangement in 1st district court in Monroe, Michigan with her right arm in a cast just above the elbow to her fingers.
She faces two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing death and four counts of operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing serious injuries.
She did not enter a plea deal as the case’s prosecutor argued to hold the woman on a $1.5 million bond claiming she has had substance abuse issues.
Defense Attorney Bill Colovos countered Chidester’s bond should be $100,000.
Colovos claimed Chidester only had one glass of wine and a bowl of chili four hours before the fatal crash and had suffered from “epileptic-type seizures in her legs” since November, according to the outlet.
“This is not a monster, ” Colovos said. “It’s horrible what happened, but there are some things we don’t have control over.”
Chidester is accused of killing the two young siblings and injuring 13 others during a birthday party at a Michigan boat club Saturday.
The horror unfolded around 3 p.m. when the 66-year-old woman crashed 25 feet through the Swan Creek Boat Club, where the kids and their parents were enjoying the festivities, Monroe County Sheriff Troy Goodnough previously said.
With Post wires.
