Swan Boat Club crash trial: Mother of children killed recalls learning what happened from hospital

MONROE COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - During the second day of testimony during Marshella Chidester's Swan Boat Club trial, the mother of the two children killed in the crash took to the stand to discuss the moment she learned her children had died.

Click here for live updates on Wednesday's proceedings.

Chidester, 67, is charged with murder and several other felonies for the April 20, 2024, crash that killed Alanah Phillips and Zayn Phillips.

Through tears, their mother, Mariah Dodds, testified Tuesday that she woke up in a hospital bed and learned two of her children were dead, while her other son was badly hurt.

Read updates on all of Tuesday's testimony below.

Monday started with jury selection, which took a little over three hours, before a full afternoon of testimony from the prosecution. Witnesses called to the stand included the woman who was hosting her son's birthday party at the club when the crash happened, sisters who were injured, and law enforcement officers who immediately responded to the Berlin Township boat club.

The judge has ordered no streaming of trial proceedings until after the jury is released each day. Video of the trial will be published at lunchtime and at the conclusion of court each day.

Read a day one recap here.

Day 2 testimony

2:24 p.m. - Case wraps up for the day.

The case wrapped up for the day after Motylinski, with more witnesses expected to testify when the trial resumes at 8 a.m. Tuesday.

2:09 p.m. - Detective who executed search warrant at bar takes stand

Monroe County Sheriff's Office Det. Josh Motylinski arrived at the scene after Chidester was gone. 

"Total disarray of what appeared to be a child's birthday party," he said. "It was just total destruction."

After responding to the Swan Boat Club, Motylinski went to Verna's Tavern, where Chidester said she had lunch. He was able to obtain a copy of a receipt showing that Chidester purchased one glass of wine at the bar, he testified. 

1:53 p.m. - Mother of 2 children killed recalls moments before crash

Mariah Dodds, the mother of Alanah Phillips and Zayn Phillips, testified about what she remembered happening leading up to the crash that killed two of her children.

She said that her children had just finished eating and were going to soon head outside. She doesn't remember the crash, she testified. Dodds learned what happened when she woke up in a hospital.

Through tears, Dodds described learning from her sister that Alanah and Zayn were killed, and her other son was severely injured.

"I freaked out because it hit me, 'Where's my kids at?' And then that's when she told me that Jayden was life-flighted to a hospital, and Zayn and Alanah were no longer there," Dodds testified.

Both Dodds and her surviving son Jayden suffered broken bones in the crash.

When Chidester's attorney, Bill Colovos, went up for cross-examination, he didn't have any questions for Dodds. However, he broke down in tears while giving his condolences to her. Chidester was also seen crying at this time.

1:46 p.m. - Victim describes ‘havoc’ inside boat club

Another victim, Leah Stith, took the stand next to describe what she witnessed and the injuries she suffered.

"From what I remember, there was just debris flying everywhere, and it seemed like an explosion had gone off," she said. "That's what I just assumed because of how much havoc was going on."

Stith lost consciousness. She suffered a concession, and had a hematoma on her head, a broken sternum, three broken ribs, and a punctured lung. She also suffers from PTSD and has trouble being in vehicles now, especially when others are driving, she testified. 

1:38 p.m. - Victim details injuries sustained in crash

The first Swan Boat Club crash victim to be called to the stand Tuesday was Diane Medina. Other victims testified Monday.

Like the other victims, Medina detailed the injuries she sustained when a vehicle barreled through the building. 

"It was like a moment stopped for me in my head, but it was, like, silent and then chaos," she said.

Medina testified that she suffered a concussion, a broken pelvis, and a crushed nose. She also had internal bleeding that required surgery.

1:16 p.m. - Analyst discusses Chidester's speed at time of impact

After a lunch break, Lt. Brian Quinn, who leads the Monroe County Sheriff's Office's Traffic Services Unit, took the stand to expand on Burkhart's testimony about the Event Data Recorder (EDR). 

Quinn analyzed the EDR, a device that records a wealth of data during a crash, including whether drivers and passengers are wearing seat belts, every time the brake pedal is hit, percentage of throttle, speed, change in velocity, whether headlights are on or off, and more.

According to Quinn, Chidester's EDR recorded both the crash into her neighbor's vehicle and the Swan Boat Club crash. He testified that Chidester was going about 44 mph with her foot on the gas when she hit the building. According to the EDR data, her speed was steadily rising before impact. 

11:33 a.m. - Deputy testifies about photographing Chidester's vehicle

Photos taken by Monroe County Sheriff's Deputy Nicholas Burkhart were shown. 

Burkhart photographed Chidester's vehicle while it was still inside the Swan Boat Club and again at a towing company's storage facility. He testified that he followed the vehicle to make sure it was locked up in the storage facility, and he returned to take more photos on April 22, 2024. 

He said he also obtained the Event Data Recorder (EDR) that was removed from the vehicle and generated a report. However, he did not testify about the contents of the report because he said he is not trained to discuss the report. 

11:08 a.m. - Sergeant who oversees investigations discusses security footage

Det./Sgt. Jeff Hooper, who oversees Monroe County detectives and investigations, testified that he was called to the boat club after the crash. When he arrived, he went inside the building to gain access to security footage.

Two days after the crash, he was also tasked with searching Chidester's home. During that search, he obtained footage from four motion-activated cameras at Chidester's home - three outside and one in the kitchen.

Video previously shown in court was played. It showed Chidester leaving her home before the crash. Hooper testified that Chidester first crashed into her neighbor's truck before driving to the boat club.

Hooper is expected to be called to the stand again Wednesday to discuss a video of him interviewing Chidester once Colovos has time to review the footage. 

11:02 a.m. - Drone operator testifies 

After the crash, Monroe County Sheriff's Office Lt. Ryan Sottile was called to the boat club to use a drone to take photos of the scene.

Photos taken with the drone were shared in court. They showed the club from above with a large hole in the wall where Chidester's vehicle drove through the building. 

10:54 a.m. - Evidence tech takes the stand

The prosecution then called Monroe County Sheriff's Det. Marjorie Martin to the stand. Martin responded to the Swan Boat Club to take photos of the scene and collect any evidence.

Martin's job duties also include handling the evidence lockers at the sheriff's office. She described the process deputies take when they are submitting evidence, which includes using a computer system to access a locker not in use and placing evidence in the locker. 

According to Martin's testimony, she handled Chidester's blood test kit. Typically, she mails them to a lab in Lansing, but she said Chidester's blood was driven to the lab by another deputy.

Martin said her department does not refrigerate blood tests and never has. Colovos asked her if the Michigan State Police lab puts blood samples in a fridge. She testified that she does not know how the MSP lab handles samples once it receives them. 

10:37 a.m. - Deputy testifies about interviewing Chidester

Monroe County Sheriff's Deputy Cody Carena, who interviewed Chidester after the crash, took the stand next as his body cam video of the interaction was shown.

"I was just hoping no one was hurt," Chidester was heard telling Carena as the interview started.

This video, which was previously shown in court, included Chidester telling Carena that she had lunch and a glass of wine at a bar earlier in the day before going home. During that interview, she also told Carena that she had a seizure the month before that hospitalized her for several days.

Carena asked Chidester how she felt on a scale of one to 10, with one being sober and 10 being very drunk. She said she was seven. After that question, Carena asked her if she felt OK to drive, and she said, "I wouldn't want to drive,"

When Colovos cross-examined Carena, he argued that Chidester may have been shaken up from the crash and may not have felt OK to drive after crashing into a building.  Colvovos also pointed out that his client was not slurring her words during the interview.

10:34 a.m. - Deputy who handled blood draw kit takes stand

Schmidt's testimony was followed by Monroe County Sheriff's Deputy Dominic Flint, who testified that he opened the blood draw test kit for Schmidt after being called to provide extra security at the hospital.

8:34 a.m. - Deputy who administered sobriety tests, monitored blood draw testifies

Monroe County Sheriff's Deputy Steven Schmidt described seeing "pure chaos" when he arrived at the boat club. Schmidt gave a rundown of what he witnessed both inside and outside before being questioned about the investigation.

"It was the most chaotic scene of my almost eight-year career," he said during his testimony.

On-site investigation

After evaluating the scene, Schmidt said he was directed by Monroe County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Michael Bomia to start a potential drunk driving investigation.

Bomia testified Monday. Read a recap here.

Schmidt testified that he asked Chidester some basic questions, like her name, as he began looking for signs that she may be drunk.

"At that time, I could smell the odor of intoxicants coming from her, bloodshot, watery eyes, and then later on, inability to keep balance," he said.

Schmidt testified that once Chidester was out of the patrol vehicle, she told him that she had neuropathy and appeared to be having difficulty with balance, so he chose to administer sobriety tests that did not involve balance.

According to his testimony, she failed several tests, including one where she was asked to follow his finger with her eyes. She was able to successfully recite the alphabet. 

"At some point she was trying to use her head to follow it, but ultimately she was unable to complete the test," Schmidt said.

After these tests were completed, Schmidt handcuffed Chidester and transported her to a hospital for a blood draw. 

Blood draw at hospital

Schmidt then testified about the blood draw process. The handling of Chidester's blood has been a big part of her attorney's arguments, with him claiming that her blood was mishandled and thus was tainted.

The deputy said another deputy with him opened the Michigan State Police blood draw kit, a standard kit that contains blood test tubes with a preservative powder, urine collection vials, an iodine prep pad, specimen labels, paperwork, and a bag.

"Everything was intact and everything was there," Schmidt testified. 

When the hospital's phlebotomist arrived, Schmidt said he gave her the test tubes and remained in the area while Chidester's blood was being drawn. After drawing the sample, Schmidt said the phlebotomist "inverted the tubes multiple times" to mix up the preservative in the tube.

The sample was then placed in the kit and given to Schmidt, who maintained possession of it while he waited for Chidester's injuries to be evaluated. Once at the sheriff's office, Schmidt said the blood was placed in an evidence locker. 

Body cam footage of the blood draw was shown in court.

During cross-examination, Colovos, questioned if Schmidt had shaken the tube of blood. He said he hadn't. 

When questioned about why a breathalyzer test was not also performed, Schmidt testified that leadership at the Sheriff's Office directed him to take Chidester for a blood draw since fatalities were involved in the crash. 

When the prosecution questioned Schmidt after cross-examination, he was asked to read the guidelines for taking blood samples. According to the instructions from the blood sample kit read in court, a vial must be inverted several times after blood is taken - something the phlebotomist did, a fact supported by Schmidt's testimony and body cam video.

8:24 a.m. - Frenchtown Township fire captain testifies 

The first witness to take the stand Tuesday was Capt. John Debarr, with the Frenchtown Township Fire Department. Debarr, who is also trained as a paramedic, was one of the first people to arrive at the scene after the deadly crash.

The prosecution questioned Debarr about how and where victims were transported. He also testified about knowing that Alanah Phillips, one of the children killed in the crash, would not survive after evaluating her injuries. 

2 kids killed in boat club crash

The backstory:

Two children, 8-year-old Alanah Phillips and 4-year-old Zayn Phillips, were killed after a vehicle barreled through the Swan Boat Club during a birthday party on April 20, 2024.

According to authorities, Chidester, 67, had a BAC of .18 when she drove her vehicle into the Berlin Township club.

Chidester was charged with two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of operating while intoxicated causing death, and four counts of operating while intoxicated causing serious injury.

After the crash, Chidester told deputies that she didn't remember it happening. When asked how she was feeling on a scale of 0-10, with zero being sober and 10 being passed out drunk, Chidester responded that she was at seven. She was also heard telling the deputy that she "wouldn't want to drive," when asked if she felt she was OK to drive.

A deputy who testified during her preliminary exam said that Chidester failed several field sobriety tests, couldn't maintain her balance, had watery, bloodshot eyes, and smelled like alcohol.

Chidester told authorities that she had drunk one glass of wine at a nearby bar early in the day, a fact Colovos said was confirmed during a search at that bar.

She also told the deputy that she had a seizure the month before the crash and was hospitalized for several days. 

Marshella Chidester's defense

What they're saying:

Colovos has maintained that the crash was a result of Chidester's medical condition, not alcohol. He has also argued that her blood sample was not properly handled and thus should not be admitted as evidence.

"It's based upon that they had faulty, when they took the blood, when they were supposed to preserve the blood, when they transported the blood, and when the blood was tested, all of it was faulty," he said.

According to Colovos, the blood was allegedly not properly preserved and stored, which can cause it to ferment.

"It wasn't preserved properly by statute, by law," he said. "We really wish it would have been done right because then it would have showed what her real blood alcohol level was."

Colovos said the basis for his request comes from evidence presented during Chidester's preliminary examination last year. According to Colovos, an officer who handled the blood sample testified that he did not shake it after adding a preservative.

"He was supposed to shake it because that preservative is what keeps it from being instead of a .02 turns into a .18. if the preservative is not shaken," Colovos said in court Friday.

Colovos filed a motion requesting not to have the BAC results presented during trial.

The other side:

The prosecution argued that any concerns about BAC should be argued at trial. Monroe County Circuit Court Judge Daniel White agreed.

After the motion to suppress the BAC was denied, Colovos requested that the issue be addressed before jurors are in the courtroom. White declined this request.

The BAC is expected to be a big part of the trial, with Colovos previously saying that he will have an expert testify about how the blood sample was handled. 

How to watch Marshella Chidester's trial

The judge is not allowing Chidester's trial to be streamed. FOX 2 will publish the video of the trial at the conclusion of each day.

More Swan Boat Club crash coverage

• Marshella Chidester's BAC is admissible in court, judge rules
• Marshella Chidester's attorney claims her BAC was 'tainted'
• Judge rules Swan Boat Club crash evidence can be used in court
• Photos show Swan Boat Club crash aftermath

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