Mom Was DUI, Speeding Before Crash That Injured Kids: Cops

WOODSTOCK, GA — A Cherokee County mother was indicted last week on charges she was speeding and driving under the influence moments before she crashed into a tree and injured herself and her two daughters.

McKenzie Lynn Reints was indicted by a Cherokee County grand jury on two counts each of serious injury by vehicle, endangering a child while driving under the influence and cruelty to children in the second degree and one count each of DUI, reckless driving and speeding. The serious injury by vehicle and cruelty to children charges are felonies while the remaining crimes are misdemeanors.

Reints was behind the wheel of a 2010 Ford Flex around 10:12 p.m. June 18 in the 1400 block of Silver Fox Run when the vehicle veered off the roadway and crashed head-on into a tree. According to a Cherokee Sheriff's Office incident report, Reints told sheriff's deputies they were returning home from the pool when the accident occurred. One deputy reviewing the crash scene noted the Ford traveled several feet from the roadway at the end of a cul-de-sac and crashed into the tree.

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"While inspecting the interior of the vehicle, I noticed several open beer cans in the rear passenger area of the vehicle," the corporal wrote. "I attempted to speak with the driver, but she seemed disoriented and confused."

Before she was transported to the hospital, Reints spoke with one deputy and allegedly said "she consumed three Mixxed brand canned beverages while at the pool," the incident report states.

The two daughters inside the car were transported to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta for treatment while Reints was taken by ambulance to Northside Hospital-Cherokee. According to the indictment, the accident caused the two children to suffer injuries to their legs. Arrest warrants also state Reints' blood alcohol level was .267 grams at the time of the crash and the Ford Flex was traveling 46 miles per hour in a 25 mph zone. The indictment also states the two juveniles were not restrained in seat belts at the time of the collision.

A GoFundMe page was created to help the Reints family pay for medical expenses related to the single vehicle crash, an initiative that brought in a little more than $20,000 for the Woodstock family.

Reints is scheduled to be arraigned at 9 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 8 in courtroom 2C at the Cherokee County Justice Center in downtown Canton.

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