Crime & Safety
Grosse Pointe Teen Pleads Guilty In Deadly Crash: Prosecutor
A 17-year-old Grosse Pointe teen has pleaded guilty to a deadly crash that happened in November 2023, according to prosecutors.
GROSSE POINTE FARMS, MI — A 17-year-old Grosse Pointe teen has pleaded guilty to a deadly crash that happened in November 2023, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office.
Flynn Mackrell, 18, of Grosse Pointe, was killed after a speeding BMW X3 crashed into a light pole in the area of Ridge and Moran roads around 9 p.m. on Nov. 17, 2023, according to police.
Officers found Mackrell dead while belted into the car's passenger seat, and the teen, who was then 16-year's-old belted in the driver's seat, according to police.
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The teen pleaded guilty to manslaughter with a motor vehicle, a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. He was initially with second-degree murder in connection with the crash, a charge that could have landed him in jail for life.
The teen was not charged as an adult, but was "adult designated," meaning a judge has the option of sentencing the teen as a juvenile or an adult, or to fashion a blended juvenile sentence with the option of imposing an adult sentence if the juvenile is not rehabilitated, if he's convicted on the charge.
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He will be sentenced on June 6.
Police said the teen was reaching "speeds that rival speeding on our Michigan freeways" in a 25-mph residential area before losing control of the car and leaving the roadway, striking a utility pole and a tree.
"The evidence in this case will show that the defendant was driving in a residential neighborhood at speeds that rival speeding on our Michigan freeways," Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said. "We know that the rules of the road exist for a reason, speed kills. Driving 25 in a residential neighborhood is mandated, not a mere suggestion."
In December, Mackrell's mother wanted the teen's mother charged in connection with the crash, but prosecutors declined, saying there is "insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that any crime has been committed by the respondent’s mother."
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