‘Wasn’t an accident’: Mom seeks charges against parent of driver in fatal crash

( NewsNation ) — The mother of a teenager killed in a high-speed crash last Thanksgiving is calling for criminal charges against the driver’s parent, claiming she knew about her son’s dangerous driving habits but failed to intervene.

Anne Vanker, whose 18-year-old son Flynn MacKrell died when his friend Kiernan Tague crashed at 105 mph in a 25 mph zone, said Tuesday on NewsNation’s “ Dan Abrams Live ” that the incident “wasn’t an accident” and “could have been prevented 100%.”

“Every day I wake up basically shocked in disbelief that my son is gone,” Vanker said. She is urging Wayne County prosecutors to charge Elizabeth Tague, Kiernan’s mother, arguing she was aware of her son’s reckless driving through a phone app that monitored his speed.

“She knew and admitted it through text to him that he was breaking the law, acting criminally,” Vanker said. “She expressed that it was not safe, but she never took the keys away.”

According to Vanker, text messages and phone records show Kiernan repeatedly drove at extreme speeds, sometimes more than 150 mph, in the months leading up to the fatal crash.

Kiernan Tague, 16 at the time of the incident, is awaiting trial on second-degree murder charges. He is being tried as a “designated adult,” which could result in a reduced sentence combining adult and juvenile penalties if convicted.

Vanker compared the case to that of the Oxford High School shooter’s parents, who were convicted of involuntary manslaughter for failing to prevent their son’s actions.

“I would liken an Audi to a nine millimeter and the BMW to an AR-15,” Vanker said, comparing the powerful BMW X3 Kiernan Tague was driving to a dangerous weapon.

Former federal prosecutor from Michigan, Mark Chutkow and criminal defense attorney Mercedes Colwin told NewsNation it would be challenging to prosecute successfully.

Colwin said that unlike the Crumbley case, where the parents gave a gun to a child with known mental health issues, it’s harder to argue that giving car keys will lead to a fatality.

“Those text messages are very damning, but what might save that mom is that she was not home the night that he drove that car. It’s been reported that she was in Canada,” Colwin added.

The attorney said that the son’s history of not listening to his mother could be used by the defense.

Prosecutor Chutkow said “it’s a tough decision for the Wayne County prosecutor to make.” He said this case would be expanding the law if charges were brought.

Chutkow also suggested that jurors might relate too closely to the situation, thinking, “Could this happen to me?”

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