SCHOOLCRAFT TOWNSHIP, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — A man accused of killing an elderly couple in a car crash near the village of Schoolcraft in 2021 was found not guilty of second-degree murder on Wednesday, January 25.
28-year-old Ezra Phillips of Saginaw however, was found guilty on two counts of operating while intoxicated causing death, with each count carrying a 15-year maximum sentence.
According to crash scene investigators, Phillips was driving a Dodge Durango that reached speeds of 115 miles per hour before he crashed into the side of a Chevrolet Impala driven by 83-year-old Joel Shaffer at the intersection of West XY Avenue and US-131 in Schoolcraft Township. Shaffer was killed alongside his wife, 84-year-old Dolores Shaffer from blunt force trauma injuries considered “unsurvivable,” according to a medical examiner’s testimony on Friday.
Police say Phillip’s blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit, and he was driving at speeds of 84 mile per hour at the point of impact with the other vehicle.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday, March 10.
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