A Mattawan woman has been charged, two days after an Amish buggy crash led to the death of a young girl and sent a boy to the hospital in critical condition.
Friday, Sheila Kershner, 31, was charged with the following, according to court documents obtained by News Channel 3:
Operating while intoxicated causing death
Reckless driving causing death
Homicide – manslaughter with a motor vehicle
Operating while intoxicated causing serious injury
Reckless driving causing serious impairment of bodily function
Fourth-degree child abuse
Two counts of operating while intoxicated – occupant less than 16
Wednesday, troopers were called to County Road 215 and 60th Avenue for a crash in which Kershner allegedly rear-ended an Amish buggy, killing an 8-year-old girl and critically injuring a 12-year-old boy, according to Michigan State Police.
The horse pulling the buggy also had to be put down after getting severely hurt in the crash, troopers said.
Judge Michael T. McKay called Kershner’s actions the “biggest threat to Van Buren County.”
“Drunk driving presents the most serious threat to the citizens of Van Buren County, statistically more serious any of the assault crimes,” McKay said. “Ms. Kershner represents the most serious kind of risk to the public.”
Children riding with Kershner inside the car were not harmed in the collision.
“In this case, the worst possible outcome, we have an intoxicated driver who, with two of her own children in the vehicle, hit someone else’s vehicle, and kills one of their children and seriously injures a second,” McKay said.
Kershner, on the other hand, was ultimately arrested for “suspected substance abuse,” according to state police.
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