Britt Reid charged with DWI in car crash that critically injured 5-year-old girl
Former Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid has been charged with driving while intoxicated for his involvement in a Feb. 4 crash that left a 5-year-old girl hospitalized with brain injuries.
Jackson County (Mo.) prosecutors announced the felony charges on Monday. If convicted, Reid could face a jail sentence of 1-7 years.
Investigators found that Reid was driving nearly 84 miles per hour just before the crash. And two hours later, according to a probable cause statement released Monday, Reid's blood alcohol concentration was .113, above the legal limit of .08.
The Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney's Office said in a news release that Reid, the son of Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, would surrender with his attorney on Monday. Prosecutors have requested a $100,000 bond, and that Reid be placed on GPS and alcohol monitoring.
Investigation reveals new details about Reid crash
The crash occurred on Thursday of Super Bowl week, after 9 p.m., not far from the Chiefs' facility. Reid, then the team's outside linebackers coach, was driving a white 2020 Dodge Ram when it struck two stationary cars on the side of an interstate.
Using data obtained from an ACM, or "black box" – an in-car monitoring device – Kansas City police department investigators determined that Reid was going 82.6 miles per hour five seconds before the crash. Three seconds later, and 1.9 before the crash, he was going 83.9 MPH. The speed limit was 65.
The two stationary cars, investigators found, were parked on the shoulder some 231 feet apart. Reid's "steering input was normal," ACM data showed, until he impacted the first car, at which point he steered "right then hard left," before crashing into the second car while traveling 67.7 MPH.
Police said Reid told them on the night of the crash that he had just left work. "As he was approaching the point where he needed to merge onto the highway," the probable cause statement reads, "he was looking over his left shoulder to evaluate traffic so he could merge. He struck the [first car] which he did not see as there were no lights on the vehicle. Reid stated that he continued southbound where he rear ended the [second car]."
Prosecutors alleged Monday that Reid, while under the influence of alcohol, "acted with criminal negligence by driving at an excessive rate of speed, failing to be aware of a disabled vehicle, striking it and causing physical injury to a child in that vehicle."
Reid's BAC
Police said Reid, who turns 36 later this month, admitted to having 2-3 drinks and a prescription Adderall on the night of the crash. A DUI Unit officer "noted his eyes were bloodshot and red," according to the probable cause statement.
A search warrant executed three hours after the crash indicated a blood alcohol concentration of .072, and a BAC of 0.62 roughly 30 minutes later. But according to the probable cause statement, medical records later revealed a BAC of .113 at 11:07 p.m., around two hours after the crash.
Reid suffered injuries, and was transported to a nearby hospital for emergency surgery. The Chiefs placed him on leave, then allowed his contract to expire after the Super Bowl. He no longer works for the team.
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said Monday that Reid is not receiving any favorable treatment.
5-year-old girl still faces long recovery
Ariel Young, the 5-year-old girl injured in the crash, was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. She "suffered severe traumatic brain injury, a parietal fracture, brain contusions and subdural hematomas," according to the prosecuting attorney's office, which cited medical records.
Ariel was in a coma for over a week back in February. She awoke on Feb. 15, according to family, and was released from the hospital April 2.
“The hope is that being in a familiar setting will trigger parts of her brain that have not woken up yet,” the family’s attorney, Tom Porto, told the Kansas City Star on Monday. She is still unable to walk or talk, and is being fed via feeding tube.
“Undoubtedly, her recovery process will continue for a long time, if not indefinitely," Porto told the Star. "It’s heartbreaking and we are not sure what the future holds.”
More details on the crash, injuries
Porto praised both the charges and the investigation. The probable cause statement, dated March 31, thoroughly details the timeline of events. The cars were stationary on the interstate shoulder because one had run out of gas. Ariel's mother, Felicia Miller, had arrived in the second car with fuel to help her cousin.
As they prepared to jump the first car, Reid's Dodge Ram impacted it. Reid then continued southbound and hit Miller's car further down the road.
Miller told police she was in the driver's seat when she looked up at her rearview mirror and saw headlights moving toward her. She said she was knocked unconscious, then awoke and called for her sister and their children, who were also in the car. She said she found Ariel "in the rear of the [car] under where the third seat had folded over. She was unresponsive," according to the probable cause statement.
Miller's sister, Angela Saenz, also suffered non-life-threatening injuries – facial lacerations and a concussion – in the crash. But Missouri law limits how many charges prosecutors can pursue, Baker, the Jackson County prosecutor, said.
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