Two young siblings were killed and 13 other people were injured on Saturday afternoon when a suspected drunk driver plowed into a southeastern Michigan boat club where a birthday party was taking place, authorities said.
At around 3 p.m., first responders were called to the Swan Boat Club in Monroe County’s Berlin Charter Township, a community of around 9,000 residents approximately 30 miles southwest of Detroit. A young child’s birthday party was taking place when a driver plowed through the boat club’s north wall and struck more than a dozen people, Monroe County Sheriff Troy Goodnough said.
The vehicle came to rest approximately 25 feet inside the building, authorities said.
First aid measures were performed on a total of 15 people, including nine individuals who were rushed to area hospitals with serious life-threatening injuries, the sheriff stated. Two of the victims, an 8-year-old girl and her 5-year-old brother, were pronounced dead at the scene.
Four other victims were brought to hospitals in private vehicles, authorities said.
“The scene was described by first responders as extremely chaotic with a high level of emotion of those directly involved and those who witnessed this horrific incident,” Goodnough said.
The driver of the vehicle, a 66-year-old woman, was taken into custody on suspicion of operating while intoxicated causing death and was transported to the Monroe County Jail, according to the sheriff. The driver, who had yet to be named, will likely face additional charges, according to law enforcement.
Police were also investigating at a nearby tavern, where the driver in question may have been prior to the incident, Goodnough said. Sheriff’s deputies shut the business down and were in the process of executing a search warrant in following the collision.
As of late Saturday night, investigators were working to process evidence, identify the victims and interview witnesses, according to the sheriff. An investigation remained underway.
The boat club, in a Facebook post, urged people to “keep all the people and families in attendance in your prayers” and said it would be closed on Sunday as a result of the incident.
“There was a terrible accident at Swan today with many injuries, and much damage to the pavilion. Please keep all the people and families in attendance in your prayers,” the club’s commodore, Dan Riordan, said. “Because of this, Swan will be closed tomorrow, Sunday April 21. Thank you all.”