An 8-year-old Michigan girl and her 5-year-old brother were killed Saturday afternoon when a suspected drunk driver slammed into the building where a birthday party was taking place.
Three children and six adults were taken by ambulance or medical helicopters to area hospitals with serious injuries, Monroe County Sheriff Troy Goodnough said. Several more people were taken for treatment in private vehicles, The Monroe News reported.
Fifteen people were treated on the scene at the Swan Boat Club in Berlin Township, the sheriff said.
“The scene was described by the first responders as ‘extremely chaotic,’ with high levels of emotions of those directly involved and those who witnessed this horrific incident,” Goodnough said.
The vehicle, driven by a 66-year-old woman, rammed the north wall of the building and came to rest about 25 feet inside. The woman’s name was not released, but she was jailed on a charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing death, and Goodnough said more charges are expected.
Surveillance video showed the vehicle speeding across the parking area just before the crash.
The driver was cooperative at the scene, Goodnough added.
Goodnough and Frenchtown Township Fire Chief Wendy Stevens said investigators weren’t sure how many people were in the building at the time of the crash.
