Latest news with #Tague
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Grosse Pointe teen to be sentenced for killing friend in 105 mph crash
A Grosse Pointe teenager with a history of excessive speeding is scheduled to be sentenced Friday, June 13 for killing his friend in a 105 mph vehicle crash that took the life of a stellar swimmer and college freshman, whose untimely and tragic death in 2023 continues to haunt and torment his family. Flynn MacKrell, 18, a Grosse Pointe freshman at the University of Dayton, was home for Thanksgiving break when a friend took him on a deadly joy ride down a residential street in Grosse Pointe Farms, hitting 105 mph in a BMW before losing control, hitting a pole and then a tree. MacKrell, who was a passenger, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver, Kiernan Tague, who was 16 at the time, managed to walk out of the vehicle after the crash, but was taken to a local hospital with multiple injuries. The BMW had split in half. According to police reports, cellphone exchanges and Life360 app records obtained by the Free Press, in the weeks and months before the Nov. 17, 2023, fatal crash, Tague hit speeds of 127 mph, 143 mph, 102 mph, 150 mph and 155 mph — all on separate days — and also engaged in drag racing. After the fatal crash, Tague initially was charged with second-degree murder, but accepted a deal with the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office that ended with him pleading guilty last year to the lesser charge of vehicular manslaughter — a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Tague, though, has an adult designation, which means the judge has the option of sentencing him as an adult or a juvenile. The judge also could fashion a blended juvenile sentence, with the option of giving him an adult sentence if Tague is not rehabilitated over time. More: 'Slow the f--- down': Grosse Pointe mom's texts to son may come back to haunt her More: Grosse Pointe family: Judge tried to go easy on driver who killed our son The victim's family, meanwhile, wants nothing short of a maximum prison sentence. "If he gets to walk, that solidifies him as a criminal," the victim's mother, Anne Vanker, said on the eve of sentencing. "Time and time again in his life, he has not been held accountable — and now my son is dead .... no one should sit where I have sat for 18 months." Perhaps most frustrating for the victim's family is that the driver's mom knew for months that her son was driving at excessive speeds, and texted him to slow down. But she never revoked his driving privileges when he was speeding around metro Detroit in an Audi sports coupe. "Slow the f--- down!" the mother once texted her son, according to records obtained by the Free Press. "I have screen shots of you … doing 123 mph … It scares me to my bone." The victim's family also pushed for criminal charges to be filed against the driver's mother, though Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy declined their request, concluding the driver was the only one responsible for the tragedy that night, and that his mom did all she could to control her son. 'Parenting is hard in the best of circumstances," Worthy said in a statement after announcing her decision not to charge the mother. "Most parents do everything they can to mentor their children and steer them in the right direction. The juvenile respondent's mother was no different. She took consistent, active steps to try to make sure that he stayed on the right path." The driver's mom, Elizabeth Puleo-Tague, has denied numerous requests for comment. As for the driver, his attorney, Gabi Silver, said life will never be the same again for the now 18-year-old high school senior, and that the teen is "very remorseful" for causing the death of a childhood friend who grew up down the street from him. "He is so sorry and sad about what happened," Silver previously said to the Free Press. "That kid was his best friend … he spent most of his time over there. I don't think that he's ever going to be able to put this behind him." But living with guilt is not enough for the victim's family. They want Tague behind bars. "He needs to be in prison," Vanker has said. "He killed our son. Therapy is not enough. . … Now, sentence him appropriately, that's all I want." She stressed: "No one should ever, ever have to lose a child like this … I still can't believe my son — my big calm son — is gone." Tague's sentencing is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. at the Wayne County Criminal Justice Center in Detroit. Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Grosse Pointe teen to be sentenced for killing friend in 105 mph crash
BBC News
30-03-2025
- Science
- BBC News
RSPB Fairburn Ings nature reserve counts 'record number' of egrets
A "record number" of egrets have been recorded at a West Yorkshire nature reserve, with one species successfully breeding for the first time in the site's Fairburn Ings, near Castleford, cattle egret bred for the first known time in Yorkshire last year, the RSPB said, fledging three Tague, reserve manager, said the spread of these "once-rare visitors" marked a major shift in the region's birdlife."These birds, until recently seldom seen as far north as Yorkshire, are now calling Fairburn home and we've never seen them is such good numbers," she said. "We're hoping they will breed again this year, and the great white egrets might breed here for the first time this year too." The reserve said it regularly saw 12-17 cattle egrets and six great white egrets last egret are white plumed birds that often follow cattle around, feeding on the insects they birds were rarely seen at Fairburn Ings until about five years ago, the RSPB said, when conservationists and birders started spotting them more reserve suggested it could partly be the result of global warming, with the birds moving further northwards away from warmer temperate and tropical countries. Karen Swaffield, RSPB warden, said: "We watched the cattle egrets acquiring their beautiful breeding plumage and noticed the eye of one turning red, which they do just before they breed."It's wonderful that we had two pairs of nesting cattle egret and that they successfully managed to fledge three young."The first spoonbills recently returned to Fairburn Ings, with black-headed gulls beginning to arrive at the neighbouring St Aidan's reserve. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Yahoo
Grosse Pointe teen pleads guilty to killing his friend in 105 mph car crash
Three days before his trial was to start, a Grosse Pointe teenager pleaded guilty Friday to causing the death of his friend, admitting he drove 105 mph on a residential street in 2023 when he lost control, hit a pole and then a tree, claiming the life of his passenger: Flynn MacKrell, a stellar swimmer and college freshman who had returned home for Thanksgiving break that night. Kiernan Tague, who was 16 when the accident happened, initially was charged with second-degree murder, but accepted a deal with the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office that ended with him pleading guilty to the lesser charge of vehicular manslaughter — a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Tague, though, has an adult designation, which means the judge has the option of sentencing him as an adult or a juvenile when he is sentenced in June. The judge also could fashion a blended juvenile sentence, with the option of giving him an adult sentence if Tague is not rehabilitated over time. The victim's family, which has been reeling since the tragedy and fighting for justice for their son, is pushing for a maximum, adult punishment. "Kiernan needs to be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law ... it cannot be a slap on the wrist," said the victim's mother, Anne Vanker, who wants the now 18-year-old driver to do time in an adult prison for robbing her son of his life, and destroying her family's life in the process. "I have two children, so I go on. But this is the greatest crime — and it was preventable, predictable and inevitable," Vanker said through tears Friday, citing the driver's speeding habits that were captured on the Life360 app that his mom had placed on his phone. According to police reports, cellphone exchanges and Life360 records obtained by the Free Press, in the weeks and months before the Nov. 17, 2023, fatal crash, Tague hit speeds of 127 mph, 143 mph, 102 mph, 150 mph and 155 mph — all on separate days — and also engaged in drag racing. "He needs to be in prison," Vanker said. "He killed our son. Therapy is not enough. We're not tolerating this anymore. ... Now, sentence him appropriately, that's all I want." Officials: Former Detroit police officer charged in fatal accident in Roseville Tesla, Ford, Toyota, Maserati among more than 850,000 vehicles recalled: Check recalls here Tague entered his guilty plea Friday with the help of his lawyer, Gabi Silver, who asked him a series of questions, including: Was he driving a car on the date in question in the area of Ridge Road? Did he have a passenger in the car and was he driving 105 mph? Did he lose control? Did the car hit a pole? And did he learn that his friend died as a result of his actions? Tague answered "yes" to all of the questions. "He is so sorry and sad about what happened," Silver said to the Free Press after the plea hearing. "He is very remorseful ... that kid was his best friend ... he spent most of his time over there. I don't think that he's ever going to be able to put this behind him." When asked why Tague decided to plead guilty, Silver said: "He wanted to accept responsibility so he could move on from this part ... but I don't think he's ever going to put it behind him. It's going to be part of the framework of his life forever." Silver also said that while it was important to Tague that he take responsibility for his actions, he wanted that admission to be consistent with what he believed was the appropriate resolution — in this case, a charge of manslaughter with a motor vehicle. "He always wanted to take responsibility," Silver said "It's not that he denied it, or never wanted to take responsibility for it." Tague's plea, meanwhile, offers some solace for Vanker and her family. "We have some relief — in the fact that he was convicted as a felon for killing our son," Vanker said. But the pain, anger and frustration over losing their son is still there, especially, Vanker maintains, because this was preventable. Perhaps most frustrating for the victim's family is that the driver's mom knew for months that her son was driving at speeds of over 150 mph, and texted him to slow down, yet never revoked his driving privileges when he was speeding around metro Detroit in an Audi sports coupe. "Slow the f--- down!" the mother once texted her son. "I have screen shots of you … doing 123 mph … It scares me to my bone." But instead of taking her son's keys away, the victim's family argues, the mom went out and bought a faster and more tempting BMW sports car, which is what Tague was driving the night his friend died. Vanker and her family were so incensed by the mother's actions that they asked Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy to charge the mom with involuntary manslaughter. Worthy denied their request to charge the mother, concluding the driver was the only one responsible for the tragedy that night, and that his mom did all she could to control her son. 'Parenting is hard in the best of circumstances," Worthy said in a statement after announcing her decision not to charge the mother. "Most parents do everything they can to mentor their children and steer them in the right direction. The juvenile respondent's mother was no different. She took consistent, active steps to try to make sure that he stayed on the right path." The driver's mom, Elizabeth Puleo-Tague, has denied numerous requests for comment. Vanker, meanwhile, still wants her held accountable. "She was sitting on a ticking time bomb. She knows he's out of control, yet she basically gets him a weapon. It's like she handed him an AR-15," Vanker has previously said, stressing the nightmare for her never ends. "To say this is a living hell is an understatement," Vanker has said. "My life has been ruined. My family's life is ruined. No one should ever, ever have to lose a child like this … I still can't believe my son — my big calm son — is gone." Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Grosse Pointe teen pleads guilty to killing friend in 105 mph crash
