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Sheriff identifies young siblings killed by driver who crashed into party

Updated April 22, 2024 at 3:42 p.m. EDT|Published April 21, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. EDT
Authorities respond to the Swan Creek Boat Club after a driver crashed a vehicle through a building where a children's birthday party was taking place Saturday in Berlin Township, Mich. (Kathleen Kildee/Detroit News/AP)
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Officials in southeastern Michigan have identified the 8-year-old girl and her 4-year-old brother who were killed Saturday when a suspected drunk driver plowed through a child’s birthday party at a creekside boat club.

Monroe County Sheriff Troy Goodnough in a statement Monday identified the children as Alanah Phillips, age 8, and Zayn Phillips, age 4. Diane Harrington, the victims’ aunt, said in a verified fundraiser for family funeral costs that the children’s mother and older brother remained hospitalized. Harrington declined to comment when reached by phone Sunday.