Drunk 66-year-old woman arrested after slamming car into Michigan boat club leaving 2 dead, 15 injured
NEWPORT, MICHIGAN: Two children were killed and over a dozen others were injured when a drunk driver's car struck a Michigan boat club that was having a birthday celebration, according to the authorities.
An eight-year-old girl and her five-year-old brother were killed and at least fifteen people were injured in the incident that occurred around 3 pm on Saturday, April 20, at the Swan Boat Club in Berlin's Charter Township.
66-year-old woman driving the vehicle was drunk
Three children and six adults were receiving life-threatening medical care as of Saturday night, April 20. An official from Michigan State Police told Fox News Digital that the 66-year-old woman driving the vehicle was under the influence of alcohol at the time.
The woman allegedly drove her car 25 feet into the building. During the press conference on Saturday night, Monroe County Sheriff Troy Goodnough broke down several times while describing the horrific scene.
"The scene was just described by the first responders as extremely chaotic, with high level of emotions of those directly involved and those who witnessed this horrific incident," he said.
Goodnough described the circumstances as "tragic" and verified that a child's birthday celebration was taking place at the boat club at the time of the accident, in a statement to Fox News Digital.
"Preliminary investigation reveals that a vehicle drove through a building where a children’s [sic] birthday celebration was taking place, seriously injuring a number of people, both children and adults," the statement read.
It further stated, "The victims have been transported to several area hospitals."
Suspect being held at the Monroe County Jail
Swan Boat Club declared on Facebook that it was closing for a while due to the incident, "In light of the emergency please do not try to come to Swan Boat Club at the moment so emergency vehicles can get through," the boat club said in a post.
"At this time the club is closed until further notice. Please keep everyone involved in your thoughts and prayers. We thank everyone for their concern and prayers," the business added.
Criminal charges are being brought against the suspect who is being held at the Monroe County Jail. While authorities are actively investigating the incident. no further information is available at this point.
