Woman charged for crash that killed Amish girl near Lawrence

PAW PAW, Mich. (WOOD) — A woman has been charged with five felonies and three misdemeanors after her SUV hit an Amish buggy, killing a girl and injuring a boy near Lawrence Wednesday morning. On Friday afternoon, 31-year-old Sheila Kershner of Mattawan was charged with operating while intoxicated causing death, reckless driving causing death, homicide — manslaughter with a motor vehicle, operating while intoxicated causing a serious injury, reckless driving causing serious impairment of a bodily function, child abuse — fourth degree, two counts of operating while an occupant inside the vehicle was less than 16 years of age for the crash. The most serious of the charges are punishable by up to 15 years in prison. During the arraignment, Judge Michael McKay said that drunken driving is a serious threat in Van Buren County. "Statistically (it's) more serious than any of the assault crimes. In this case, with the worst possible outcome, we have an intoxicated driver with two of her own in the vehicle, hit someone else's vehicle and kills one of their children and seriously injured a second ... she represents the most serious kind of risk to the public," McKay said before setting her bond at $500,000 cash surety. She is scheduled to be back in court on April 9. Kershner has no previous driving record. The crash happened a little after 8 a.m. in the area of County Road 215 and 60th Avenue after a witness called 911. “Preliminary investigation … was that the buggy was traveling northbound on County Road 215 before it was rear-ended by the SUV,” Michigan State Police Lt. DuWayne Robinson said. An 8-year-old girl, identified on Friday in court as Alma Yoder, was rushed to the hospital, where she died, MSP said. A family friend told News 8 that her funeral will be held on Saturday at the family home, a little more than a mile from where the crash happened. The girl’s older brother, age 12, was also in the buggy and was seriously injured, MSP said. He has been released from the hospital and is recovering at home. The horse was also killed. A GoFundMe has been set up to help the Yoder family pay for medical expenses for the 12-year-old and funeral expenses for Alma.