Chiefs and family of girl injured in Britt Reid crash finalize agreement for her care

The Kansas City Chiefs and the family of a 5-year-old girl injured in a vehicular crash involving former assistant coach Britt Reid announced on Friday they have reached a financial agreement to cover the girl’s ongoing medical treatment and other expenses.

Over the past several months, representatives from the football team, Ariel Young’s family and medical experts have worked together to come up with a care plan.

Attorney Tom Porto said in a statement Friday that “the parties have finalized a comprehensive care plan that provides Ariel with world-class medical care and long-term financial stability.”

Other details of the plan remain confidential.

The crash happened Feb. 4, three days before the Super Bowl. It involved Reid, the son of head coach Andy Reid, who struck two cars on the side of an entrance ramp along Interstate 435, near the team’s practice facility.

A police officer said in the search warrant application that he could smell “a moderate odor of alcoholic beverages emanating from his person.” Reid, the team’s former linebackers assistant coach, allegedly admitted to the officer he had “2 to 3 drinks.”

The girl, Ariel Young, sustained a traumatic brain injury that consisted of swelling and bleeding. The crash left her hospitalized in critical condition for an extended period. She was in a coma for 11 days and was released from a hospital April 2.

“Ariel’s recovery is a long road, but she has made great strides and continues to improve every day,” the statement released by Porto said.

Earlier this fall, she was able to attend her first day of school.

The Chiefs declined to comment Friday on the agreement.

Prosecutors charged Reid with driving while intoxicated. A criminal trial has been scheduled for April 18. Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Charles H. McKenzie has set a counsel status hearing for Jan. 28.

According to court records, Reid’s vehicle struck a Chevrolet Impala, which he said he did not see because its lights were off. Reid said he continued south on the interstate and then rear-ended a Chevy Traverse at 67.7 mph, court documents show. He dialed 911 moments later, according to court documents.

Reid was driving 83 mph two seconds before the collision.

Court records allege Ariel’s mother, Felicia Miller, had arrived to help her cousin whose Impala had run out of gas and stalled. Miller said she got back into the driver’s seat of her Traverse and looked in the rear view mirror when she saw the headlights of an approaching vehicle.

Reid told an initial responding officer that he “was looking over his left shoulder to evaluate traffic so he could merge,” according to the probable cause statement.

The impact of the rear-end crash momentarily knocked Miller unconscious after the airbag struck her and broke her seat. When she woke, Miller called for her children. She located Ariel in the Traverse under the third seat that had folded over.

Ariel was unresponsive. An ambulance arrived at the scene and rushed the girl to Children’s Mercy Hospital.

Following the crash, a police officer noted that Reid’s eyes were “bloodshot and red,” according to prosecutors.

Reid had a serum blood alcohol content of 0.113 about two hours after the crash. The legal limit is 0.08.

Reid suffered a groin injury and underwent emergency surgery.

The Chiefs placed him on administrative leave. The team allowed his contract to expire without renewal, which effectively ended his employment with the team.

Reid has pleaded not guilty and is allowed to drive while he awaits trial. A device was installed on his vehicle which tests a person’s blood alcohol concentration before allowing the car’s ignition to start.

At the time criminal charges were filed, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said that Reid did not receive any favorable treatment from Kansas City police or her office.

Baker said changes in Missouri’s DWI laws limit the number of charges that the prosecutor’s office could pursue, given the evidence in the case.