Woman charged in Monroe County boat club crash released on $1.5M bond
A Newport woman charged with eight crimes related to the fatal crash at the Swan Boat Club in Monroe County was released Thursday on a $1.5 million bond, the jail and her attorney confirmed with the Free Press.
Bill Colovos, the attorney for Marshella Chidester, 66, said she was able to post bond via a surety company.
Chidester was released two days after she was arraigned in Monroe County District Court on the charges, which include two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of driving while intoxicated causing death.
She's accused of slamming an SUV on Saturday into the boat club, where a birthday party was taking place. Two children were killed and over a dozen others injured, several still hospitalized. Colovos argued in court that his client suffers from "epileptic type seizures" in her legs. He said she had only one glass of wine that day.
Upon Chidester's release Thursday, Colovos doubled down on his argument that a medical issue caused the crash, telling the Free Press his client suffers from neuropathy, "blacked out" from a seizure and is "very remorseful."
She started having the seizures in November and a doctor told her to stop driving for two months, but did not restrict her further, Colovos said in court earlier this week.
"She feels absolutely horrible. To black out, then all of the sudden be told that two young children were killed ... it's like a bad dream you wake up from," Colovos said.
Colovos is still waiting on a medical report that would determine his client's blood alcohol level around the time of the crash. The prosecutor said in court that a preliminary alcohol breath test was "significantly over the legal limit" but he was not specific.
"Believe me, I'm waiting for it," Colovos said.
Mariah Dodds and three of her children were attending the party. Two of Dodds' children, 8-year-old Alanah Phillips and 4-year-old Zayn Phillips, were killed. Dodds and her 11-year-old son survived, and were being treated at a local hospital. Both of the boy's legs and some ribs are broken and his skull is fractured.
During Chidester's arraignment on Wednesday, Monroe County Prosecutor Jeffery Yorkey asked for the $1.5 million cash bond, pointing to a history of "severe substance abuse" allegedly corroborated by friends and family of Chidester and that Chidester admitted to drinking that day.
Judge Christian Horkey agreed to the bond and set conditions upon her release: Chidester is prohibited from consuming alcohol or any illegal substances and is prohibited from driving. She must undergo substance abuse testing and monitoring, which includes wearing a tether, Horkey said.
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: Woman charged in Monroe County boat club crash released on $1.5M bond
