Injured girl’s family offended by release of Andy Reid’s son

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson offered his “deepest sympathy”to the family of a 5-year-old girl who was seriously injured in a drunken driving crash, after facing criticism for releasing from prison the driver who caused it, former Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid.

But in a statement Tuesday to the Kansas City Star, Parson stopped short of apologizing for commuting the remainder of Reid’s three-year prison sentence to house arrest, subject to conditions.

Parson’s office said no one asked the governor — who is a Chiefs fan — to commute the sentence, including Reid himself; his father, Chiefs coach Andy Reid; or anyone else associated with the team that recently won the Super Bowl for the second consecutive year. Parson spokesman Johnathan Shiflett didn’t respond to text and email messages from The Associated Press seeking comment.

“It seems the laws don’t apply equally to the haves and have-nots. The haves get favors. The have-nots serve their sentence,” the injured girl’s mother, Felicia Miller, said in a statement through the family attorney.

Prosecutors said Reid was intoxicated and driving at about 84 mph in a 65-mph zone when his truck hit two cars on an highway entrance ramp on Feb. 4, 2021.

Six people were injured in the collision, including Reid and 5-year-old Ariel Young, who suffered a traumatic brain injury. One of the vehicles Reid hit had stalled because of a dead battery, and the second was owned by Felicia Miller, who had arrived to help.

Reid pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury and was sentenced to three years. Parson reduced that term and ordered his release on March 1. Reid had been expecting to be released about eight weeks later.