Witnesses testify about Swan Boat Club crash that led to deaths of 2 children at party

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04-03-2025

Eight witnesses, a few quite emotional, testified Monday in the first day of a trial for a Monroe County woman accused of driving her SUV through a wall at Swan Boat Club, killing two young siblings and injuring others at a child's birthday party.
Kristyn Sigler was the first on the witness stand for prosecutors in the trial of Marshella Chidester, 67, who is charged with two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of operating while intoxicated causing death and five counts of operating while intoxicated causing serious injury in the April 20 incident at the boat club in Newport, about 30 miles south Detroit.
Sigler told jurors she was FaceTiming with a friend who couldn't attend her 3-year-old son's circus-themed birthday party at the club, where Sigler also works. They had just finishing singing "Happy Birthday," and there were cake pops to be had.
Then came a very loud sound.
"It sounded like a bomb," Sigler testified, adding the "chaos" she then saw — debris everywhere, dust floating around, flashing lights, screaming and yelling. Soon, she found herself getting her son and his cousins outside, and then lifting debris off party guests and maneuvering around others.
Someone yelled there was a child under the vehicle, and there was a frantic search for a jack or other materials to lift it.
Sigler testified that she saw her 4-year-old godson, Zayn Phillips, under the driver's side of the vehicle. She was able to get underneath, she told jurors, and pull him out.
"I put him on my lap," she said, adding the back of his head was bleeding and he had blood on his shirt and face.
Sigler testified that she handed Zayn to her sister and then tried to reach Zayn's sister, Alanah Phillips, 8, but couldn't. She tried to get Alanah from the other side but the girl, she testified, was wedged in between the vehicle and a doorframe.
Through tears, Sigler testified in Monroe County Circuit Court, she could tell the girl, who was discolored, "was already gone." Zayn also died.
Before grabbing him from underneath the vehicle, Sigler testified that she saw Chidester, recognizing her from the club, and could smell alcohol on her.
Chidester's trial began with jury selection and 14 people were seated — four men and 10 women. Before deliberations begin, two jurors will be dismissed from the panel of 12.
Circuit Court Judge Daniel White told jurors the trial was expected to last five to seven days, with dozens of witnesses possible.
Law enforcement officials said previously that Chidester had a blood alcohol level of 0.18, more than twice the legal limit to be considered legally drunk, at the time of the crash. The operating while intoxicated charges read in court accused her of being impaired by a combination of alcohol and Gabapentin, an anticonvulsant and nerve pain medication.
More: What is gabapentin? Here's why it's so controversial.
More: Woman charged in Monroe County boat club crash released on $1.5M bond
Assistant Prosecutor Kenneth Laurain laid out the scene for jurors in his opening statement, juxtaposing what was going at the birthday party — face-painting and a bounce house — and Chidester's departure from her home just two football fields away, crashing into a tree and a neighbor's truck before barreling into the boat club parking lot and then the building.
He said jurors would hear testimony from party guests, boat club members, first responders and survivors as well as video of the crash, with some video played in court Monday. Laurain asked jurors to keep in mind the level of intoxication and Chidester's "legal intent" by her actions.
Chidester appeared in court in a gray suit, her hair tied back. Her attorney, Bill Colovos, told the jury during opening statements: "There is no question this is very, very sad what took place. But what this case is about is was there an intent to kill someone? Was there was an intent to be reckless?"
Colovos told jurors he believes the evidence will show Chidester, who he said has never been pulled over for a ticket, "will show her credibility," that she had less than one glass of wine that day, and that she suffered from seizures and neuropathy.
Another witness, Denise Roberts, testified that she attended the party for her great-nephew and was talking to her sister-in-law when she heard a loud boom. She said she lost consciousness, then could hear the voice of her nephew who wanted to put her in a chair. She told him to let her sit on the floor because her back hurt so badly.
Roberts told jurors she suffered four fractured ribs, two fractured scapula, had a slight concussion and has PTSD, anxiety and neck problems. She said she remembers Chidester saying she passed out.
Patricia Raths, who was attending her great-nephew's party, testified that Chidester kept saying in a scream: "I passed out." Raths told jurors she initially suffered bad headaches, blurry vision and a concussion among other health problems. Now, she said, her biggest problem is memory loss.
Jason Wickland, who was attending his grandson's party, testified that he was not hurt, but he saw Chidester in the passenger seat of the vehicle, trying to reach down between the seat looking for something. He testified "she was drunk."
Monroe County Sheriff's Sgt. Michael Bomia testified that he walked Chidester to his patrol car from the boat club, asking her questions. Per his body-worn camera, he could be heard asking Chidester what happened. She said she passed out. She indicated she was feeling ill and had seizures as a medical condition.
Bomia asked whether she was drinking a little that day and she said "a little bit, yes." She said her last drink had been about a half-hour before the crash and that she had wine.
Contact Christina Hall: [e-mail]. Follow her on Twitter: @challreporter.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Witnesses testify about Swan Boat Club crash where 2 kids died at party