Ex-Chiefs assistant Britt Reid drove drunk, injuring girl. Sentence commuted by governor

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Friday commuted the sentence of former Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid, who was convicted of driving while intoxicated and causing a crash that severely injured a 5-year-old girl.

Reid, 38, will be under house arrest until Oct. 31, 2025, according to Parson’s office. Reid, who is the son of Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, pleaded guilty to a single felony charge of driving while intoxicated, causing serious injury, for the Feb. 4, 2021, crash.

Asked why Parson decided to commute the sentence, Johnathan Shiflett, a spokesman for Parson’s office, responded in a statement Friday: “Mr. Reid has completed his alcohol abuse treatment program and has served more prison time than most individuals convicted of similar offenses.”

The commutation marked at least the second time Parson has exercised his pardon or commutation power to grant clemency to prominent, well-connected individuals. The Republican governor previously pardoned Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple prosecuted after waving guns in front of Black Lives Matter demonstrators.

And it comes as Parson continues to weigh whether to pardon or commute the sentence of Eric DeValkenaere, the former Kansas City police detective who is the first officer in the department ever convicted of killing a Black man.

The timing is remarkable, coming less than three weeks after the Chiefs won a second consecutive Super Bowl led by Andy Reid. A copy of the commutation provided by Parson’s office indicates it was issued on Friday.

Ariel Young, who was 5 years old at the time, was a passenger in one of two vehicles that Britt Reid’s pickup slammed into on the side of the entrance ramp along Interstate 435, near the team’s practice facility.

Prosecutors said Britt Reid was driving 83 mph two seconds before the collision and had a serum blood alcohol content of 0.113 about two hours after the crash. The legal limit is 0.08, according to Missouri law. Ariel was in a coma for 11 days.

In November 2022, Reid was sentenced to three years in prison.

Tom Porto, an attorney for the girl and her family, said Friday that he was in disbelief.

J.R. Hobbs, an attorney for Britt Reid, declined to comment. Reid’s contract with the Chiefs expired days after the crash. The team also declined to comment Friday.

Rep. Keri Ingle, a Lee’s Summit Democrat, said on social media that she “really cannot imagine any justification for commuting a drunk driver who severely injured a 5 year old.”

Ariel’s mother, Felicia Miller, in a statement read by assistant Jackson County prosecutor Brady Twenter during the sentencing hearing in 2022, said her daughter still suffers from the crash. She drags her right foot when she walks, has trouble keeping her balance and becomes nauseated during car rides. Ariel takes special education classes and now wears thick glasses.

“This is our life,” Miller said in the statement. “Ariel’s life is forever changed because of Britt Reid. Her life will be dealing with the damage that Britt Reid did.

“She will deal with the effects of his actions every day for the rest of her life.”

Prosecutors sought a four-year prison sentence for Reid. In a memorandum, they pointed to prior criminal convictions involving substance abuse from years ago and the end result of a child suffering severe injury among their arguments.

Under the terms of the limited commutation, Reid will have to work at least 30 hours, install an ignition interlock system in his vehicle, undergo random drug screening, meet weekly with a probation or parole officer and complete at least 10 hours of community service each month.

The Missouri Department of Corrections website listed Reid as a current prisoner at the Maryville Treatment Center as of 9 p.m. Feb. 29.

The Star’s Jesse Newell contributed to this story.