Judge allows ex-Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid to drive, but with one condition

Former Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid will be allowed to drive while he awaits trial on a charge of driving while intoxicated, but with a device installed in his vehicle to test his blood alcohol content.

During a bond review hearing Monday, Jackson County Judge Jessica Agnelly said the initial no driving condition was “mistakenly” added to Reid’s bond conditions.

Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Brady Twenter asked that Reid not be allowed to drive “whatsoever,” but if he is permitted to, that he be required to use an ignition interlock device.

Reid’s lawyer, J.R. Hobbs, asked that Reid be allowed to drive. He did not object to the installation of the device.

Prosecutors did not initially request that Reid not be allowed to drive, so the judge allowed it with the installation of the device, which tests a person’s blood alcohol concentration before allowing the car’s ignition to start.

Reid has obliged to the conditions of his bond. On Monday, he also waived his preliminary hearing on the charge, a felony punishable by up to seven years in prison. He pleaded not guilty.

On Feb. 4, Reid struck two cars on the side of an entrance ramp along Interstate 435, near the team’s practice facility, according to prosecutors. The crash injured two children, including 5-year-old Ariel Young, who suffered a traumatic brain injury.

Tom Porto, an attorney for Ariel’s family, said her relatives were “greatly disappointed” by the judge’s decision.

“We wish the defendant would’ve had an ignition interlock device installed on his car Feb. 4, 2021, and maybe none of this would’ve ever happened,” he said. “It’s too late for that now, however.”

Reid, a former linebackers coach, was charged April 12. He was driving 83 mph two seconds before the collision, according to prosecutors, who also allege that he had a serum blood alcohol content of 0.113 about two hours after the crash. The legal limit is 0.08.

After the crash, Reid allegedly admitted to police that he had been drinking. A police officer noted that Reid’s eyes were “bloodshot and red,” according to charging documents.

Reid suffered a groin injury and underwent emergency surgery.

In 2008, Reid pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of a controlled substance in the Philadelphia area.

According to a GoFundMe set up by the family of the girl injured in the February crash, Ariel had swelling and bleeding in and around her brain and was in a coma for 11 days. She was released from a hospital April 2, but was not able to walk or talk and was being fed through a feeding tube.

The crash occurred three days before the Super Bowl, and the Chiefs then placed Reid on administrative leave. The team allowed his contract to expire without renewal, effectively ending his employment with the organization.

Reid was released from jail after posting $100,000 bond.