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Prosecutor Kym Worthy (file photo)
A Grosse Pointe mother won't be charged in the fatal 2023 crash in Grosse Pointe Farms in which her son, 17, was driving recklessly at a high rate of speed, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office announced Tuesday. Her son faces a second-degree murder charge in the death of his passenger, Flynn Mackrell, 18.
Authorities alleged that on Nov. 17, 2023 the son was driving at a high rate of speed in a residential area when he lost control of the vehicle and struck a utility pole and a tree at Ridge Road and Moran Road, resulting in the death of Mackrell. The driver's name was not released because of his age.
After the driver was charged in July, the prosecutor's office said it received a letter from the deceased victim’s mother requesting the mother be charged for alleged inaction and negligence regarding her son's behavior.
On August 15, police presented warrant request to the prosecutor's office to charge the mother.
The prosecutor's office said it conducted an extensive review of records, and evidence from 2018 to 2023 "to get a full picture of the relevant facts and evidence pertaining to the mother’s conduct relating to the respondent over a period of years leading up to the fatal car crash."
"As a result of the review, WCPO has found that the respondent’s mother has consistently taken reasonable measures to assert parental control over her son over the years as it relates to his general behavior and his driving leading up to the fatal car crash," the prosecutor's officd said. "The warrant request is denied for insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that any crime has been committed by the respondent’s mother."
In a statement, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said:
“We have spent a significant amount of time discussing this case and have looked at all of the applicable law. We looked at police reports and other documents. We are confident that the facts and evidence will prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the juvenile respondent committed the offenses that we have charged."
“Parenting is hard in the best of circumstances. 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. There will be those that say she should have done more, but we have looked at all of the facts and those facts dictate no criminal charges here. We will not be more specific about her actions because her son will be facing trial in February."
The teen driver was not charged as an adult but rather an adult designated. That means the judge has an option to sentence him as juvenile or an adult, or to fashion a blended sentence.
