A Michigan family was left outraged after the speeding driver who killed their son avoided jail time at his sentencing.
Flynn MacKrell, 18, was killed instantly in November 2023 when then-16-year-old Kiernan Tague lost control of his mother’s BMW while going over 100mph in a 25mph residential zone in Grosse Pointe.
Tague, now 18, was first charged with second-degree murder, but he took a plea deal for a reduced charge of manslaughter with a motor vehicle, reported Fox 2.
He was charged with adult designation, meaning that the judge had the option to sentence him as a juvenile, as an adult, or create a blended sentence.
On Friday, the judge opted to release Tague on probation, with the condition that he serve 19 to 38 months at the Wayne County Detention Facility if he violates the terms of his probation.
The terms of his probation include being required to live in a secure facility, such as a residential treatment center, rather than at home, according to WDIV.
MacKrell’s devastated mother, Anne Vanker, called the sentence a gross miscarriage of justice.
‘It’s a cunning, manipulative criminal individual who just once again was not held accountable for killing my son, so no, his fake tears are disgusting,’ she said.
MacKrell’s devastated mother, Anne Vanker (pictured), called the sentence a gross miscarriage of justice
Kiernan Tague (pictured) was sentenced to probation for driving over 100mph in a 25mph zone when he crashed his mother’s BMW and killed his friend Flynn MacKrell
‘Do you know how much pain and energy and suffering it is to have no justice and still have no justice? I’ve spent the last year and a half, and I waited for that.’
MacKrell’s heartbroken family had begged the judge to impose the maximum sentence on Tague.
‘I was robbed of seeing him graduate. I was robbed of being his best man. I was robbed of meeting his children,’ his brother, Thaddeus MacKrell Jr., said during the hearing.
Tague lost control of the vehicle just five minutes after picking up MacKrell while traveling at over 100 mph and hit a pole and then a tree.
The force of the impact obliterated Tague’s mother’s BMW X3 M and killed MacKrell, a standout swimmer at the University of Dayton.
MacKrell’s family had called for Tague’s mother, Elizabeth Puleo-Tague, to be investigated by police after text messages emerged showing she was aware of her son’s speeding habit – which she had intimate knowledge of through a GPS app called Life360.
Among the text messages, Elizabeth wrote to Tague on September 14, 2023, two months before the crash: ‘Slow the f*** down right now!’
Videos released by local police showed Tague filmed himself driving recklessly and well over the speed limit on numerous occasions.
MacKrell (pictured), 18, who was a standout swimmer at the University of Dayton, was killed instantly in the November 2023 crash
Tague lost control of the vehicle just five minutes after picking up MacKrell while traveling at 105 mph and hit a pole and then a tree (pictured)
Tague reached speeds of 127mph, 143mph, 102mph, 150mph and 155mph on separate days in July and August and filmed himself drag racing in September and October of 2023.
Charges were never filed against Elizabeth because the prosecutor’s office determined the mother took reasonable measures to assert parental control over her son over the years.
At the sentencing hearing, Tague apologized to the MacKrell family and referred to the victim as his best friend.
‘My heart is profoundly heavy with grief, regret and remorse,’ he said. ‘What pains me most is that I know that any pain that I’ve experienced is nothing compared to what Flynn’s loved ones, especially his parents, sister, brother, and family have experienced.’
