September 12, 2022
Former Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid, the son of longtime Eagles head coach Andy Reid, has accepted a plea deal to avoid a trial in the drunk driving crash that severely injured a 5-year-old girl in Missouri days before the Super Bowl in February 2021.
During a court appearance Monday, Reid, 37, admitted he had been drinking before he left Arrowhead Stadium in his Dodge pickup truck on Feb. 4. He previously had pleaded not guilty and had a trial scheduled for later this month, but opted to take a deal from prosecutors in Jackson County.
"I regret what I did. I made a huge mistake," Reid said, according to the Kansas City Star. "I apologize to the family. I didn't mean to hurt anyone that night."
Reid was driving 84 mph in the seconds before he slammed into two vehicles on the side of an entrance ramp to Interstate 435, authorities said.
The crash put Ariel Young into a coma for 11 days with a traumatic brain injury and caused non-life-threatening injuries to another 4-year-old. Felicia Miller, the mother of Young, had driven out to the highway around 9 p.m. to assist a cousin whose car had run out of gas.
Reid struck the second car at 67 mph before coming to a stop and calling 911, prosecutors said. He suffered a groin injury and underwent emergency surgery at a nearby hospital.
Two hours after the collision, Reid had a serum blood alcohol content of 0.113, well above Missouri's limit of 0.08. Reid told police he had consumed "two or three drinks."
Reid also claimed that the tail lights were off on the first car he struck and that he had been looking over his shoulder to assess the traffic around him when he made impact.
As part of the deal, prosecutors recommended Reid be sentenced to no more than four years behind bars. Circuit Court Judge Charles H. McKenzie could sentence Reid to as little as 120 days in prison and five years of probation, per Missouri law. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 28.
"My family and I are opposed to the plea deal," Miller reportedly told the judge, joined by other family members who wore "Justice For Ariel" shirts. "I don't think he should receive it."
The family's attorney noted that Reid was a prior offender, having served time in jail for weapons and drug charges, in addition to a past DUI offense in Pennsylvania. Reid joined the Chiefs' staff in 2013 after the team hired his father, who had been fired by the Eagles following a 14-year tenure that began in 1999.
In November, the Chiefs reached a confidential financial agreement with Ariel's family to cover her ongoing medical expenses and aid in her long-term stability. The girl spent nearly two months in the hospital before she was released home, where she has undergone extensive physical therapy in the months since.
The family also raised more than $580,000 on GoFundMe to support Ariel's recovery.
The Chiefs fired Britt Reid in the aftermath of the crash and went on to lose Super Bowl LV to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
