Swan Boat Club crash: Marshella Chidester's attorney wants BAC results tossed from trial
Marshella Chidester in court on June 27, 2024
MONROE COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - Marshella Chidester's attorney says blood samples used to show that his client was drunk when she crashed into the Swan Boat Club last year were tainted, so the blood alcohol content (BAC) should be excluded from her trial.
According to test results presented in court, Chidester had a BAC of .18, more than double Michigan's legal limit, when she slammed into the club, killing two children.
Defense attorney Bill Colovos filed a motion to suppress the use of the BAC when his client faces a jury next month.
"There were a lot of flaws there," Colovos said, referring to how the blood sample taken from Chidester was handled.
Judge rules Michigan club crash evidence can be used in court
A judge ruled during Chidester's motion hearing on Monday that all body cam footage from her arrest would be admissible in court.
The backstory:
On April 20, 2024, Chidester, 67, crashed into the Swan Boat Club in Monroe County while a birthday party was being held. The crash killed 8-year-old Alanah Phillips and 4-year-old Zayn Phillips, and injured more than a dozen other people.
Video from security cameras at Chidester's home, which is next to the club, showed her slowly walking out of her house and backing into another vehicle just before crashing into the building.
After the crash, Chidester told Monroe County Sheriff's deputies that she didn't remember it happening. When asked how she was feeling on a scale of 0-10, with zero being sober and 10 being passed out drunk, Chidester responded that she was at seven. She was also heard telling the deputy that she "wouldn't want to drive," when asked if she felt she was OK to drive.
Driver in deadly Swan Boat Club crash to stand trial
Marshella Chidester appeared in court on Thursday in connection to the fatal Swan Boat Club crash. Her blood alcohol level was .18, more than double the legal limit in Michigan, according to blood test results read in court.
A deputy who testified during her preliminary exam said that Chidester failed several field sobriety tests, couldn't maintain her balance, had watery, bloodshot eyes, and smelled like alcohol.
Chidester told authorities that she had drunk one glass of wine at a nearby bar early in the day, a fact Colovos said was confirmed during a search at that bar.
Following the crash, Chidester was charged with two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of operating while intoxicated causing death, and four counts of operating while intoxicated causing serious injury.
What they're saying:
Colovos maintains that his client was suffering from a medical condition at the time of the crash.
According to Colovos, Chidester had been experiencing seizures since November 2023, was taking medication for the condition, and needed to stop driving for several months last fall due to seizures.
Colovos previously said that he believed the blood sample was tainted and will now take that argument to court. On Monday, he elaborated on what he thinks happened to the blood sample.
Marshella Chidester trial: Judge rules Swan Boat Club crash evidence can be used in court
Statements that Marshella Chidester made after the fatal Swan Boat Club crash will not be excluded from her trial, a judge ruled Monday.
"It's based upon that they had faulty, when they took the blood, when they were supposed to preserve the blood, when they transported the blood, and when the blood was tested, all of it was faulty," he said.
According to Colovos, the blood was allegedly not properly preserved and stored, which can cause it to ferment.
"It wasn't preserved properly by statute, by law," he said. "We really wish it would have been done right because then it would have showed what her real blood alcohol level was."
Big picture view:
Though blood tests are considered more accurate than breath tests, how blood samples are handled can have an impact on the results of testing.
Colovos must prove that the blood sample was not preserved after it was taken. This could be done by having an expert analyze the blood and testify.
What's next:
A judge will hear arguments about excluding the BAC from evidence during a hearing Feb. 21.
After that, Chidester's trial is scheduled to begin on March 3. However, Colovos has been pushing to have that trial date pushed to later in the year so that Chidester's doctor, Ram Garg, can testify. Garg is currently in the middle of his own legal case for allegedly operating a pill mill, and he has invoked his Fifth Amendment rights while the case is pending.
A Monroe County Circuit Court judge declined Colovos' request to adjourn the trial until Garg's case is closed, so Colovos took the case to the Michigan Court of Appeals. That court is expecting to rule on the motion soon.
The Source: An interview with Bill Colvos and previous FOX 2 stories were used to write this report.