A 17-year-old was dashing at over 100 mph on a residential road within the prosperous Detroit suburb of Grosse Pointe final November when he misplaced management, sliced his mom’s BMW X3 M in two, and killed his 18-year-old passenger. The driving force who survived the catastrophic high-speed crash was Kiernan Tague, an unruly younger man who had a minimum of 22 documented contacts with the police since 2018 for varied causes, together with assaulting his mom. Tague was charged with 2nd-degree homicide and is awaiting trial, and now the sufferer’s household believes there may be sufficient proof to pursue legal expenses towards his mom, Elizabeth Tague, who purchased the automobile used within the crash.
Tague’s passenger he killed within the crash was 18-year-old faculty freshman and swimmer Flynn MacKrell, who was identified to be mild, selfless and imaginative. MacKrell’s household is utilizing the precedent set by the Crumbley trials following the 2021 lethal mass taking pictures at Oxford Excessive Faculty to go after Tague’s mom. Within the Crumbley trials, the dad and mom of Ethan Crumbley, who murdered 4 college students at his college, had been charged with involuntary manslaughter for getting and carelessly storing the gun their son used for homicide. The authorized arguments used towards the Crumbley dad and mom had been that they didn’t take cheap actions to forestall their youngster from hurting others, like not placing a lock on the gun their son used to shoot up his college.
In a ugly parallel, regardless of damning proof from a household monitoring app known as Life360 that confirmed Elizabeth Tague how her son was a reckless driver who hit speeds above 150 mph within the household’s Audi coupe, she nonetheless purchased the model new BMW X3 M that Kiernan crashed. From the Detroit Free Press,
In July and August 2023, he hit speeds of 127 mph, 143 mph, 102 mph, 150 mph and 155 mph — all on separate days. Images of his speedometer monitoring these speeds had been discovered on his mobile phone.
Within the two weeks earlier than the deadly crash, Life360 recorded 94 journeys by Kiernan, almost half of them over 90 mph. The best pace recorded was on Nov. 1, when he drove 153 mph for 20 miles.
Movies on Kiernan’s mobile phone present him drag racing twice, in September and October. One other video exhibits him driving recklessly via the Millender Middle tunnel in downtown Detroit.
On Sept. 14, 2023, Elizabeth Tague texted her son: “Gradual the F—- down proper now!” A Life360 report confirmed him touring 123 mph.
About two weeks later, Kiernan acquired a textual content from his sister a few Grosse Pointe woman who was killed by a drunk driver.
“Pace limits exist for a cause,” the sister texted her youthful brother.
Kiernan responded that he knew the sufferer, and stated: “Jesus. That’s tragic.”
Two hours later that very same day, he acquired a textual content from his mother:
“I’ve screenshots of you doing 90 mph in the midst of the evening once I didn’t even know you had left (a good friend’s) lake home … And once more two weeks in the past going 123 mph simply because.”
The textual content continued: “And your obsession (phrase selection intentional) with vehicles having upwards of 600 hp – It’s not wholesome. It’s not secure. And it scares me to my bone.”
Three weeks later, Elizabeth Tague purchased the BMW.
Elizabeth Tague was nicely conscious of her son’s dashing habits earlier than she determined to buy the sooner and extra highly effective BMW X3 M, and on the evening that her son crashed, Elizabeth was in Canada and left the BMW keys at dwelling. Kiernan had a historical past of unhealthy habits apart from his dashing behavior:
In line with police information, Kiernan has had a minimum of 22 documented contacts with police since 2018. Nearly all of police calls contain Grosse Pointe Metropolis police responding to complaints that Kiernan was uncontrolled at dwelling and breaking issues in the home.
“His mom repeatedly advised responding officers that she was afraid of Kiernan,” an investigator writes in a report, including the teenager’s most up-to-date police contact earlier than the crash was on Aug. 30, 2023, when police had been known as to Kiernan’s home “as a result of he was yelling and throwing gadgets inside the home as a result of his mom refused to get him an American Categorical Gold Card.”
In 2020, police responded to a different name from the mother, who alleged “that Kiernan had simply assaulted her and fled the world.” In line with a police report, Kiernan was being picked up at his good friend’s home and have become indignant at his mom. “Whereas within the entrance seat, Kiernan rotated and commenced punching his mom (who was within the again seat) and even bit her on her hand.” Kiernan was arrested for home violence and lodged on the Wayne County youth dwelling.
The Detroit Free Press discovered the police are within the strategy of placing collectively a warrant request for Kiernan’s mom Elizabeth Tague, which is finished to find out if there’s sufficient proof to criminally cost somebody. Kiernan’s sufferer, 18-year-old faculty freshman Flynn MacKrell, was stated to be a peaceful 6-foot-4 swimmer identified for his mild methods, straightforward smile and shaggy crimson hair. He’s survived by each of his dad and mom and his two elder siblings, 20-year-old Thaddeus MacKrell and 23-year-old Lily MacKrell. The unique reporting achieved by the Detroit Free Press’ Tresa Baldas is extremely thorough, considerate, and well-written. Learn her article right here.
