The attorney for the family of a girl severely injured in the accident involving former Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid said Tuesday the 5-year-old likely has permanent brain damage and is not walking or talking.
During an interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America” program, lawyer Tom Porto said Ariel Young is awake but not speaking nearly a month after the “serious life-altering event.” She suffered life-threatening injuries and continues to fight for her life, Porto said.
“She’s awake, which is a huge development,” Porto said on the morning show. “She likely has permanent brain damage that she will endure for the rest of her life. She’s not walking — it’s a sad, sad, sad story.”
Reid, the son of Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, told police he had two to three drinks prior to the crash on Feb. 4, three days before the team played in the Super Bowl in Tampa.
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Reid acknowledged to police he was driving the Dodge Ram truck that struck a Chevrolet Traverse that had arrived to assist the driver of a Chevrolet Impala that had run out of gas. Reid’s vehicle struck the Impala first before striking the Traverse, injuring Ariel and a 4-year-old, both of whom were in the backseat of the Traverse.
Britt Reid’s eyes were bloodshot and the officer smelled “a moderate odor of alcoholic beverages,” according to a police officer statement.
In addition to the drinks, Reid reportedly told the police that he took prescription Adderall.
No charges have been filed against Britt Reid, who pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of a controlled substance in 2008.
“We’re going to be advocating for the most serious charges and the most serious sentence that Britt could ever receive,” Porto said on GMA. “We don’t have the toxicology back, I don’t know what it is going to be. What I do know are the statements that he made to police that night. If you have two or three drinks, and then you get behind the wheel of a car, you are likely over the legal limit.”
Britt Reid is no longer employed by the Chiefs. He was the team’s outside linebackers coach, but his contract was not renewed.
–Field Level Media