Mother of five-year-old girl severely injured in crash involving Britt Reid – son of Chiefs head coach Andy Reid – claims Gov. Parson commuted his sentence because he’s a Kansas City fan as she blasts the decision

The mother of the young girl seriously injured in a 2021 crash involving former Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid has heavily criticized the decision to commute his sentence after he was left shaken.

Reid, the son of Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, pleaded guilty in September 2022 to driving under the influence causing bodily harm and was sentenced to three years in prison for a 2021 car crash.

Six people were injured in the accident, including then-five-year-old Ariel Young, who suffered a traumatic brain injury, was in a coma for 11 days and was hospitalized for two months.

After Missouri Governor Mike Parson commuted Reid’s sentence last week after just 16 months in prison, Young’s mother, Felicia Miller, claimed the family has been denied justice.

“We went to court and we were told you will get justice,” Miller said ESPN. ‘He has been in custody for a year and about three months. So we have not received (any) justice. It is not enough.

Ariel Young (right) was seriously injured in a 2021 car crash involving Britt Reid (left)

Young’s mother, Felicia Miller, denounced the decision to commute Reid’s sentence

Young’s family of Ariel Young leaves the Jackson County Courthouse after Reid was sentenced to three years in prison for driving under the influence in November 2022

“I know sometimes they say you have to forgive and forget to move on,” Miller said. “But watching my baby every day and seeing my daughter, how to live, and then seeing how he can be back home, comfortable.”

Governor Parson, a self-proclaimed Chiefs fan, attended Kansas City’s Super Bowl LVIII victory over the San Francisco 49ers last month – the team’s third in five years – and previously got a tattoo to commemorate their 2023 victory .

After backlash against his decision to commute Reid’s sentence, Parson, via ESPN, expressed “his deepest condolences for any additional distress this commutation may have caused the young family, as that was certainly not his intention.”

Parson’s office also insisted to the outlet that no request, “official or otherwise,” had been made on Reid’s behalf and that he had met the requirements for parole.

However, Miller seemed to suggest that Reid had received preferential treatment due to his former position with the Chiefs and Parson’s proximity to the team.

She agreed with her lawyer Tom Porto when he told her ESPN that he believed Reid’s buyout was a result of Parson being a Chiefs fan.

“If it had been reversed, it would have been a completely different situation,” she said. “If I was drunk and crashed into (Reid’s) car. He had his child in the car and his child got hurt, for me it was over. My whole life would be over.’

Gov. Mike Parson, who commuted Reid’s sentence, is a self-described fan of the Kansas City Chiefs

Miller agreed with her attorney Tom Porto (right) when he told ESPN he believed Reid’s buyout was a result of Parson being a Chiefs fan

She also revealed that she had not been informed of the commutation or had any contact with Reid or his family, insisting that she would not take their calls even if they tried.

According to court records, Reid’s blood alcohol content was 0.113 and he was also driving at 80 mph in a 65 mph zone when he collided with two parked cars near Arrowhead Stadium.

The incident came after Reid previously pleaded guilty to flashing a gun at another motorist during a 2007 incident and another unrelated charge of driving under the influence of a controlled substance.

Miller believed the former Chiefs assistant coach would get away with a slap on the wrist as she expressed her fear that another family would have to suffer like hers.

“He keeps getting a tap on the wrist if you just let someone get away, get away, get away. They will continue to do it,” Miller said.

The Young family and the Chiefs reached a settlement for an undisclosed amount in November 2021, with the organization paying for Ariel’s medical expenses for the rest of her life as part of the agreement.

A photo of the wreckage from the Feb. 4 crash that left Ariel Young, then 5, in a coma

Miller said her now eight-year-old daughter has made significant progress but still has developmental delays and requires special education.

“She always tells me, ‘I’m different from the other kids now,’” Miller said. ‘Oh my God, that hurts. When I see it in her face and see the things she can’t do, and know that that’s how she feels about the whole thing, that she can’t do it, it hurts me.”

Reid’s parole conditions include getting a job where he works at least 30 hours a week, installing an ignition interlock system in every vehicle he drives, random substance screenings, meeting weekly with a probation officer, attending behavioral health counseling , a meeting with a peer support. sponsor, and completing at least 10 hours of community service per week.

Reid is also prohibited from contacting the victim or her family unless required to do so by law.