On Saturday afternoon, a suspected drunk driver in Michigan crashed her vehicle into a child’s birthday party, killing an eight-year-old girl and her five-year-old brother and leaving several people injured.
🚨#BREAKING: A drunk driver plows through a building as it was hosting a child's birthday party, resulting in fatalities and serious, life-threatening injuries
Multiple law enforcement and emergency personnel, along with medical helicopters, are… pic.twitter.com/rzTDDw5yLB
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) April 21, 2024
According to a statement posted to Facebook by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, a 66-year-old woman reportedly drove drunk and crashed into the Swan Creek Boat Club in Berlin Township at around 3 p.m. on Saturday.
“The vehicle struck the north wall of the facility, entered the building and came to rest approximately 25 feet inside the building, where a young child’s birthday party was being held,” the statement read.
The sheriff’s office noted that, upon arriving on the scene, first responders provided first aid to around 15 people, which included adults and very young children.
“Unfortunately 2 of the victims were pronounced deceased at the scene,” they wrote, adding that the deceased were identified as an 8-year-old female and a 5-year-old male, “who are siblings.”
Three children and six adults with serious injuries were transported via ambulance or helicopter to the hospital, while others with less serious injuries went to the hospital in private vehicles.
❌ UPDATE: 2 kids are dead, and 13 others were injured after a drunk driver crashed into a building during a kid's birthday party in Newport, Monroe County, Michigan.
According to police, the female driver, who was in her 60s, was allegedly under the influence when she drove… pic.twitter.com/JidRZoaisY
— {Matt} $XRPatriot (@matttttt187) April 21, 2024
The sheriff’s office also stated that the female drunk driver “will not be identified at this time” — though she was “taken into police custody and lodged for operating while intoxicated causing death,” and there will likely be additional charges added during the investigation into the incident.
“The scene was described as ‘extremely chaotic,’ with high levels of emotion by those directly involved and those who witnessed this horrific incident,” the sheriff’s department added.
First responders at the scene included the Berlin Township Fire Department, Frenchtown Township Fire Department, Monroe Township Fire Department, Rockwood Fire Department, Monroe Community Ambulance, Huron Valley Ambulance and the University of Michigan Survival Flight Team.
The deceased children have since been identified as Alanah Phillips and Zayn Phillips in a press release from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office on Monday. The children’s aunt also revealed that the children’s mother and brother are in the hospital in critical condition. The sheriff’s office press release confirmed that a 31-year-old woman and an 11-year-old boy were both being treated for critical injuries.
“The Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate this incident to ensure we have identified all of those who were injured or witnessed this incident,” the press release noted. “We will update the public as more information is developed.”
