Mom of Grosse Pointe teen won't be charged after high-speed crash that killed 18-year-old
GROSSE POINTE, Mich. (FOX 2) - The mom of a 16-year-old who was driving 100 MPH in a 25 MPH zone prior to a crash that killed an 18-year-old passenger will not be charged after Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said there was not enough evidence.
Prosecutor Worthy announced Tuesday morning that no charges would be filed against the parents of the 16-year-old driver who was speeding when he killed Flynn Mackrell, 18, on Nov. 17, 2023, saying that the teen's mom tried to curb her son's behavior.
According to a police report, Mackrell was riding in a 2021 BMW X3 with a 16-year-old who was going over 100 miles an hour in a 25-mile-an-hour zone. The driver lost control and crashed into a post, knocking it over and hitting a tree.
Mackrell was pronounced dead at the scene by medics.
The drive was charged with second-degree murder but was not charged as an adult. Instead, he was adult-designated; if convicted, a judge can sentence him as a juvenile or an adult. The judge could also sentence him as a juvenile with the option of imposing an adult sentence.
Mackrell's mother, Anne Vanker, sought out more justice for her son – asking for the prosecutor to file charges against the teenager's parents.
"The lamp post is knocked down, and you're talking maybe 20 feet," she said earlier this year. "The car flew in the air, flipped and hit the tree."
Vanker said the car shows that the driver had his foot on the accelerator even as it crashed.
"The black box is what shows us why it is second-degree murder," Vanker said. "Because at six seconds out, he's 100 percent, the accelerator was pushed down."
Vanker argued that the parents could have done something to stop her son. She points to a pattern of excessive speed as evidenced in the police report and says his mother purchased the vehicle and could monitor his speed with an app.
"What she did not do, but she could have done did she know there was this grave, potential grave, bodily harm or death to another person," she said.
Prosecutor Worthy took up the case and reviewed the facts. Worthy said the teen's mom had ‘consistently taken reasonable measures to assert parental control over her son' for years. Worthy said there is not enough evidence to to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime was committed by his mother.
"Parenting is hard in the best of circumstances. Most parents do everything they can to mentor their children and steer them in the right direction. The juvenile respondent’s mother was no different. She took consistent, active steps to try to make sure that he stayed on the right path. There will be those that say she should have done more, but we have looked at all of the facts and those facts dictate no criminal charges here. We will not be more specific about her actions because her son will be facing trial in February," Worthy said. "She was not directly or indirectly involved in any way in the offenses for which we have charged her son. Despite his mother’s attempts, it is our firm position that the respondent and the respondent only is directly responsible for the crimes that we have adult designated and charged him with."
The 16-year-old will be in court in January with a trial set for early February.