FILE - This booking photo provided by the Monroe County, Mich., Sheriff's Office shows Marshella Chidester. The Michigan woman has been ordered to stand trial, Thursday, June 27, 2024, in a crash that killed two siblings and injured several other people who were at a boat club to celebrate a child's birthday. A Michigan woman has been ordered to stand trial in a crash that killed two siblings and injured several other people who were at a boat club to celebrate a child's birthday.
Deputies said Chidester told them she was headed to a birthday party at the boat club. She told one deputy that she had “passed out” while driving. Killed were 8-year-old Alanah Phillips and her 4-year-old brother, Zayn Phillips. Their mother, Mariah Dodds, and another sibling were among the injured.Defense attorney Bill Colovos argued against the second-degree murder charges, saying there was no testimony that Chidester operated her vehicle with intent to cause the deaths.that she only had a glass of wine and a bowl of chili four hours before the crash, and that she has suffered since November with “epileptic-type seizures in her legs.