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Family ‘Outraged' Over Ex-KC Chiefs Asst. Coach's Guilty Plea In DWI Crash That Injured Girl
Britt Reid apologized for his actions in court when entering a guilty plea for a DWI crash that permanently injured a little girl. He could serve as little as 120 days.
The former assistant coach for the Kansas City Chiefs has formally entered a guilty plea for the 2021 DWI crash that left a young girl with life-altering injuries.
Britt Reid, 37, had been expected to enter the plea ahead of his trial, which was scheduled to begin on Sept. 26. On Monday, Reid formally pleaded guilty to felony charges of driving while intoxicated resulting in serious physical injury, according to the Associated Press.
The charges stem from a Kansas City car crash on Feb. 4, 2021, that left then-5-year-old Ariel Young with a traumatic brain injury.
“I really regret what I did,” Reid said at the Jackson County Circuit Court. “I made a huge mistake. I apologize to the family. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”
As part of the deal with prosecutors, Reid — the son of the Chiefs' head coach Andy Reid — could face up to four years in prison. Had the case gone to trial, he faced a possible seven years behind bars.
According to the New York Times, however, Missouri law could allow Reid to see as little as 120 days behind bars plus five years probation.
Felicia Miller, Ariel Young’s mother, had gotten a call in February 2021 to help her 19-year-old cousin, after the cousin’s Chevy Impala ran out of gas on Interstate 435 near the team's stadium. Miller arrived in her Chevy Traverse and found the cousin pulled over on the shoulder of an entrance ramp not far from the Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
Ariel and her 4-year-old cousin were in the backseat of the Chevy Traverse.
According to the Kansas City Star, Miller had left her SUV and, when she returned to it, she looked in her rearview mirror and saw Reid barreling toward both parked vehicles in his Dodge Ram pickup truck.
Prosecutors contended that Reid reached 84 m.p.h. just seconds before the crash.
Miller briefly lost consciousness after the airbags were deployed. When she came to, Ariel was trapped under a folded seat.
The second child sustained non-life-threatening injuries, while Ariel sustained bleeding and swelling of the brain and was in a coma for 11 days.
Responders on the scene noted that Reid had bloodshot eyes and smelled of alcohol. Reid admitted to officers that he had two to three alcoholic beverages and was also on prescribed Adderall. Later tests revealed Reid had a blood alcohol concentration of .113, which is above the legal limit of .08.Reid also underwent emergency surgery for an injury to his groin.
Tom Porto, the lawyer representing Ariel Young’s family, said his clients are more than dissatisfied with the recent plea agreement.
“The five victims of this crime are outraged the prosecuting attorney is not seeking [the] maximum sentence allowable by law,” Porto stated. “The defendant is a prior offender whose actions caused a 5-year-old girl to be in a coma and seriously injured three others.”
Porto was referring to Reid’s multiple past legal woes involving substance abuse, some of which resulted in a 2009 stint in a rehabilitation center, according to the Associated Press. His brother, Garrett Reid, died from a heroin overdose in 2012 in Pennsylvania, when their father was coaching the Philadelphia Eagles.
Britt Reid was also accused of pulling out a handgun during a 2007 road rage incident and was arrested for another DWI later that same year.
Felicia Miller and relatives were present at the Jackson County Circuit Court to oppose the recent plea deal, wearing t-shirts reading “Justice for Ariel,” according to the New York Times.
“My family and I are opposed to the plea deal,” said Miller. “I don’t think he should receive it. We are not OK with it.”
Reid’s attorney, J.R. Hobbs, released a statement of his own following the plea, as published by the New York Times.
“Mr. Reid continued to be remorseful for his conduct and hopes that this plea brings some sense of justice to all he has affected,” said Hobbs.
Reid and Young's family previously settled over costs revolving around the child's ongoing medical care, according to the Associated Press.
Reid is expected to appear for a formal sentencing hearing on Oct. 28.
