Lawyer for nine Swan Boat Club victims said their pain is 'indescribable'
A lawyer for nine victims of Newport's Swan Boat Club tragedy in a news conference Wednesday described the suffering his clients have endured since the crash as "horrible, completely indescribable."
"It is a true tragedy that words cannot do justice to," attorney Jon Marko said, as he shared photos of the April 20 scene with reporters, including one of the SUV that crashed through the boat house wall, killing two young siblings.
Marko has filed a lawsuit in Monroe County Circuit Court on behalf of nine victims, who have sued the woman charged in the fatal crash at a 3-year-old's circus-themed birthday party. They have also sued the bar the woman had allegedly been drinking at prior, as well as the club itself.
Among the nine victims include Mariah Dodds, the mother of Zayn Phillips, 4, and Alanah Phillips, 8, who were killed, and her surviving 11-year-old son.
They accuse Marshella Chidester, 66, of gross negligence. Police say Chidester was driving while intoxicated before slamming an SUV into a wall of the Swan Boat Club. Bill Colovos, Chidester's attorney, says his client only had one glass of wine that day and "blacked out" from a seizure. He says his client suffers from neuropathy and has "epileptic like" seizures in her legs. Chidester was charged with eight crimes, including two counts of second-degree murder.
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Zayn and Alanah were pronounced dead at the scene. Dodds and her son J.P. were hospitalized. Both of J.P.'s legs were broken, ribs were broken and he has a fractured skull, according to Marko. Mariah suffered six broken ribs and a collapsed lung, among other injuries, Marko said.
Denise Roberts, Martin Roberts, Patricia Raths, Alyssa Sigler, Kathy Sigler, Lia Stith and Josh Stith also suffered serious injuries, the lawsuit details. And the victims' family units were "destroyed" due to the tragedy, the lawsuit states.
“The damage done to the families and the victims in this case, and in Monroe County as a whole, is going to reverberate beyond our years, beyond my time on this earth, into the future," Marko said Wednesday.
Those who made it out alive will be “scared for the rest of their lives," he said.
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Denise Roberts, who suffered a traumatic brain injury and back pain, was standing with her back to the wall when the vehicle Chidester was driving plowed through, the lawsuit states.
"She heard a loud boom, which sounded like a bomb went off," and the next thing she remembers is her husband, Martin Roberts, helping her sit up, according to the lawsuit.
It's similar to the account Diane Medina gave to the Free Press late last week from her Toledo hospital bed, saying she could barely breathe after the accident and called out for people to help find her three grandchildren. They luckily were uninjured.
Alyssa Sigler was "thrown to the ground from the impact" and lost consciousness, the lawsuit said. After regaining consciousness, she tended to her stepdaughter, Lia Stith, who was seriously injured. Lia Stith's father and Alyssa Sigler's husband, Josh Stith, was also injured.
Marko said his clients described the scene of the crash as a "war zone." He said the common theme among all the victims he had spoken to was that they had all thought a bomb went off due to the force of the SUV. Marko said many initially thought what had occurred was a terrorist attack.
He showed photos of the scene in the aftermath: first responders tending to victims; food, birthday decorations, tables, and what appears to be roofing and wood panels scattered across the floor.
When reached on Wednesday, Chidester's lawyer stated: "My client is heartbroken and prays for all the devastation that the families have suffered.”
Lawsuit: Local bar, boat club also liable
The lawsuit argues that Verna's Tavern is also liable. The bar allegedly sold Chidester alcohol while visibly intoxicated, according to the lawsuit, and she continued drinking until she left the bar and ultimately crashed into the club.
Verna's Tavern should have stopped selling Chidester alcohol and should have provided alternate transportation to her home, the lawsuit said.
An attorney for Verna's Tavern could not be reached for comment Wednesday. A spokesperson for the bar previously confirmed with the Free Press that Chidester was there at 11 a.m. on April 20, had a glass of wine and a bowl of soup, and said she's confident the investigation will show the restaurant is "not at fault."
The crash victims are also suing the Swan Boat Club, arguing that the establishment "negligently constructed and maintained its building," including constructing the building "in the roadway" without proper safety precautions, such as guard rails. The lawsuit also alleges the club did not maintain building codes.
Marko on Wednesday described the construction of the boat club as being "made by some boy scouts" as part of a "merit badge project."
The Swan Boat Club did not immediately return the Free Press' request for comment Wednesday.
Andrea Sahouri covers criminal justice for the Detroit Free Press. She can be contacted at 313-264-0442 or asahouri@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lawyer for Swan Boat Club victims said their pain is 'indescribable'
