BERLIN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (NEWSnet/AP) — Investigators need more time to review the case before charges can be filed in the deaths of two siblings who were killed by a suspected drunken driver at a birthday party, a Michigan prosecutor said Monday.
“We expect to make a charging decision” on Tuesday, Monroe County prosecutor Jeff Yorkey said in a brief statement.
“We appreciate the public’s patience and know that you understand how important it is to have all of the information in front of us before making such an important decision,” Yorkey said.
The fatalities of the 8-year-old girl and her 5-year-old brother happened Saturday afternoon at a birthday party taking place at Swan Creek Boat Club in Berlin Township, about 30 miles south of Detroit.
Monroe County Sheriff Troy Goodnough reported during the weekend that a 66-year-old woman drove a vehicle 25 feet into the boat club building.
[Earlier Report: Two Children Dead After Vehicle Crashes Into Birthday Party Scene in Michigan]
About 15 people were injured, including nine who were taken to area hospitals. There were no condition report updates given by local authorities Monday.
The mother and another sibling of the two children killed were among those severely injured, according to a letter posted online by Flat Rock Community Schools Superintendent Andrew Brodie. He said that the two who died, and the older sibling, were all students in the district.
“Words cannot adequately express the depth of our sorrow, nor can they ease the pain of those who are grieving,” Brodie’s letter said.
Counselors and social workers were made available Monday at the school.
A bar where the driver may have been drinking was temporarily closed, but open again Sunday.
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