A young brother and sister died and several people were injured, some of them seriously, when a vehicle driven by a suspected drunken driver crashed into a young child’s birthday party on Saturday at a boat club, a Michigan sheriff said.
An eight-year-old girl and her five-year-old brother died at the scene in the crash, when a 66-year-old woman crashed 7.6m (25 feet) into the building about 3pm at the Swan Creek Boat Club in Berlin Township, about 48 kilometres south of Detroit, Monroe County Sheriff Troy Goodnough said.
“The scene was 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.
Three children and six adults were taken to area hospitals by two helicopters or ambulances, some with life-threatening injuries, he said.
Others injured were given first aid at the scene, and some of them were taken to hospitals by private vehicles.
Goodnough did not identify the woman driving the vehicle but said she was taken into custody to the Monroe County Jail suspected of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated causing death.
She was cooperating with authorities, he said, and likely would face more charges as the investigation continues.
