GROSSE POINTE FARMS, Mich. – A teen driver has been sentenced Friday for manslaughter for a deadly crash in Grosse Pointe Farms in November 2023.
A teen passenger in the vehicle was killed in the crash.
Recommended Videos
The driver, who is still a juvenile, was not identified by authorities. He was identified during sentencing, but since he received a blended sentence, his identity will not be released.
Related: Grosse Pointe teen’s deadly crash raises parental responsibility questions
Background
Flynn Michael MacKrell, 18, of Grosse Pointe, returned home for Thanksgiving break during his freshman year at the University of Dayton. His parents said he was picked up by his then-16-year-old friend who was driving his mother’s white 2021 BMW X3. They were going to surprise another friend in Grosse Pointe Farms.
Officials said the two met with their friend for about three minutes and then left his house just after 9 p.m.
Afterward, the driver sped over 100 mph while heading southwest on a 25 mph stretch of Ridge Road.
Witnesses said the driver lost control of the vehicle, struck a utility pole, went airborne and hit a tree near the intersection of Ridge and Moran roads.
The driver survived the crash, but MacKrell died at the scene. He had to be extracted from the wreck by first responders.
MacKrell’s family wanted the driver’s mother to face charges, alleging inaction and negligence on her part regarding her son’s driving behavior, but the prosecutor’s office did not believe her actions played a role in the crash.
Related: Why mother of driver in 105 mph crash that killed Grosse Pointe teen won’t face charges
Arrest and murder charge for driver
Wayne County prosecutors announced on March 20, 2024, that they were charging the driver with second-degree murder.
His second-degree murder charge was given an adult designation, meaning if he is convicted, the judge would have the ability to sentence him as a juvenile, as an adult, or as a juvenile with the option to impose an adult sentence if he’s not rehabilitated.
A trial was supposed to begin in February 2025 when the teen driver -- now 17 years old -- pleaded guilty to manslaughter with an adult designation. All other charges have been dismissed.
Blended sentence
The judge decided on June 13, 2025, for the teen to be sentenced as a juvenile with the option to impose an adult sentence if he violated his probation.
The teen was sentenced to 19 to 38 months at the Wayne County Detention Facility. However, he is out on probation and will only serve the sentence if he violates the terms of his probation.
His probation is a secure placement probation, meaning he will not be living at home. Instead, he will be staying in a secure facility like a residential treatment center.
Victim impact statements
MacKrell’s family — his father, mother, brother and sister — urged the judge to sentence the driver to the fullest extent as an adult, claiming the teen showed no remorse and needed to take accountability for his actions.
MacKrell’s father was the first to give a victim impact statement in court. He expressed how much he’s been grieving since MacKrell died.
He described the feeling following the incident as if MacKrell had eaten the sun. “Everything was dim,” he said.
MacKrell‘s sister, the oldest of the three siblings, said, “With his death, I have lost my humanity.”
She described in depth how she has not been able to fully grasp reality.
“I cannot imagine a future without him, and I am struggling to remember the past,” she said.
“He was a person and deserved a full life,” his sister said.
MacKrell’s brother, the middle child in the family, said he and his brother were very close and were only a year apart.
He learned his brother died over the phone as he was prepping to travel home to see MacKrell and the rest of the family.
He, like his sister, had been unable to adjust to the real world since their brother’s death.
“The thought of losing my brother was my greatest fear,” he said.
He said he often saw the teen driver following MacKrell’s death and felt the teen had no remorse.
He said he felt the teen driver robbed him of seeing MacKrell graduate college, be his best man at his wedding or ever get a chance to see his brother’s future children.
MacKrell‘s mother was the last person to give a victim impact statement to the court.
“I need the court to understand that Flynn’s life mattered,” she said.
She said she had been haunted by the betrayal of someone she said MacKrell trusted, stating that the teen driver was reckless and showed no remorse.
MacKrell’s mother said she also felt deceived as the teen driver was MacKrell’s friend.
“I’m unable to comprehend a life without Flynn,” she said. “He was a cherished child of God.”
Defense attorney responds, teen gives statement before sentencing
“He has been remorseful since day one,” said the teen’s defense attorney.
She explained that the teen never reached out to MacKrell’s family to apologize because he was ordered by the court not to contact them.
The defense attorney said the teen has a greater capacity for rehabilitation and reform since he, a juvenile, is not fully developed.
The defense urged the judge to sentence the teen as a juvenile.
She said the teen has not been driving since the crash and has been going to therapy since.
The teen then gave a statement to the court beginning with, “I would like to acknowledge my privilege that I’m here and Flynn is not.”
He described how he was welcomed to MacKrell’s home by the family and that they were best friends. He said his pain has been nothing compared to what MacKrell’s family has gone through. He then broke down in tears.
“If I could send a message to my 16-year-old self, I would tell him to be careful,” he said. “I stand before you as a different man. I take full and complete accountability for my actions.”
