Felicia Miller appeared in court on Tuesday in downtown Kansas City to describe the “hell” she and her family, most notably her 6-year-old daughter Ariel Young, have been through since former Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid drove drunk into their parked car 21 months ago.
She wanted to tell of her daughter’s two weeks in a coma, the long, uncertain rehab, and the lingering effects that have left her with everything from physical impairment to special education.
She also wanted to ask Circuit Judge Charles H. McKenzie to sentence Reid to more than the four years in prison recommended by prosecutors as part of a plea deal for driving while intoxicated.
Miller called the agreement a “outrage” and demanded the maximum seven-year sentence.
She even brought her daughter, who was dressed in a “Ariel Strong” sweatshirt.
“He should serve the maximum amount of time in prison,” Miller pleaded.
Instead, McKenzie listened to Reid’s defence team’s arguments and sentenced Reid, the son of Chiefs legend Andy Reid, to three years in prison, one less than what prosecutors sought.
According to at least one local defence attorney, Reid could serve less than a year before being paroled because the charges against him are not classified as “dangerous felonies,” for which a convicted person must serve 85 percent of their sentence.
“Ultimately, only the Missouri Department of Corrections will be able to determine how much of the three-year sentence he will serve, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he is out in less than a year,” said Chris Scott, a former local prosecutor turned defence attorney who was not involved in this case.
It brings the legal proceedings to a bitter end for the victims, a working-class Kansas City family who believe Reid was given preferential treatment throughout the process because of his and his family’s football fame and fortune.
“The victims of this crime are outraged that the defendant was not sentenced to the maximum allowed by law,” said Tom Porto, a victim’s lawyer.
Reid admitted to getting drunk at the team facility on February 4, 2021, before attempting to drive home with a blood alcohol concentration of.113.
He made it less than a half mile before slamming into two vehicles parked on the side of an interstate on-ramp at 84 mph.
One was having car trouble.
The other came to help.
Six people were injured, including Reid.
The most seriously injured was then-5-year-old Ariel, who will be affected for the rest of her life.
Miller described Reid as privileged, out of touch, and unsympathetic in a blistering victim impact statement.
He was a repeat offender, she said, with convictions for road rage, DUI, and drug charges in multiple incidents in Pennsylvania, where his father coached the Philadelphia Eagles at the time.
She also made fun of his requests for probation.
“Britt Reid hurt us nearly 21 months ago,” Miller said.
“He apologised for the first time last month…
To be clear, your apology has been rejected.
“He apologised to us at the same time he apologised to ‘Chiefs Kingdom,'” Miller said, referring to Chiefs supporters.
“It’s not a game.
This is not a game for the Chiefs.
This is our existence.”
Miller described for the first time publicly the horrors of seeing Reid’s Dodge Ram truck swerve toward her vehicle, which was there to help a relative.
She was knocked out by the impact, only to awaken in a panic about the fate of two children in the now-collapsed backseat.
“We awoke to complete chaos.
‘Where had our babies gone?’
Where had Julianna gone?
‘Where had Ariel gone?'”
Miller remembered.
“Juliana, a child, was knocked unconscious.
Her nose was broken.
Ariel didn’t appear to be herself.
She was tense.
She was deafeningly silent.
She refused to wake up.
“And she didn’t come to.
For the next two weeks.”
Reid, 37, was fired from his position as coach of the Chiefs’ outside linebackers and his contract was not renewed.
The team went on to lose the Super Bowl to Tampa Bay a few days later.
Ariel eventually awoke from his coma, but the long-term extent of his injuries became clear.
“Ariel didn’t go home when she woke up,” Miller explained.
“Before we left the hospital, she tried to relearn how to walk, talk, and eat.
But she couldn’t do it.
She couldn’t run around the yard like the sweet, innocent Ariel we remembered.
“We were released from the hospital and returned to our small home near the highway where Britt Reid had injured us.
Ariel was lying on a couch with a feeding tube in her stomach.
I’d pack her into my car and drive her to therapy.
She was unable to walk.
She sobbed in her wheelchair.
So I carried my 5-year-old around like a newborn.
“Due to her new motion sickness, she would vomit in the car as we drove to therapy.
She is still experiencing motion sickness.
Britt Reid accomplished this.
He desires probation?
“… Today, Ariel walks with her right foot dragging,” Miller explained.
“We’re going to see a doctor about leg braces next month.
She has poor balance.
She processes information more slowly than her peers.
She will have to attend special education.
She is wearing thick glasses, which she has never worn before.
“This is our existence.”
According to family attorney Tom Porto of the Popham Law Firm, the family reached an unspecified agreement with the Chiefs last year that covers Ariel’s medical care and provides “long-term financial stability.”
Britt Reid admitted publicly for the first time drinking at the Chiefs’ facility during last month’s plea agreement hearing.
Both the team and the NFL initially stated that they would investigate the incident, but neither will comment on what, if anything, was discovered.
Questions remain, such as whether Reid was drinking alone or with others, whether he was drinking in secret or openly, whether anyone knew he was drunk when he left the facility, and whether anyone kept an eye on an at-risk employee.
Reid has struggled with substance abuse and legal issues for the majority of his adult life.
He would not have been hired for a coveted NFL assistant coaching position with that background and his thin résumé if it hadn’t been for nepotism.
Andy Reid is one of the most successful coaches in NFL history, having led the Chiefs to their first Super Bowl title in 50 years in February of 2020.
Miller stated that Britt Reid’s numerous advantages exacerbate the situation.
“He had every chance in life,” Miller said.
“Instead of taking advantage of the opportunities that were presented to him, Britt Reid harmed us.”
Britt Reid has forever altered Ariel’s life.
Her life will be consumed by the consequences of Britt Reid’s actions.
“She will never participate in sports,” Miller added.
“Sports, from which his family has made a living.”
She’ll never do something like that.
That was taken away from her.
She will live with the consequences of his actions every day of her life.”
Finally, her words rang out in that Kansas City courtroom, but to no avail.
Britt Reid was sentenced to three years in prison.
Ariel Young and her family will be affected for the rest of their lives.