Ariel Young, injured in crash by former Chiefs Coach Britt Reid, likely has permanent brain damage

Tom Porto, the family attorney for Ariel Young, the 5-year-old girl that was injured last month in a car accident with Britt Reid, has spoken out for the first time. In an interview with Good Morning America, he provided an update on her condition.

“She’s awake, which is a huge development,” Porto said of Ariel. “She likely has permanent brain damage that she will endure for the rest of her life. She’s not walking — it’s a sad, sad, sad story.”

According to an update today on the GoFundMe set up for the Young family, which has now raised just shy of $525,000 for the family, Ariel appears to not be responsive.

“I know everyone wants a new update on Ariel, sadly there hasn’t been much progress since the last update. She remains awake but unresponsive, and will be in a wheelchair for the foreseeable future,” the update says. “We don’t know how long it will take before she responds or talks again but we will never give up hope.

The accident occurred on February 4, the Thursday before the Super Bowl that Reid’s Chiefs were set to play in. Nearly a month later, no charges have been filed, but it looks as though Porto is determined to make sure that happens.

“We’re going to be advocating for the most serious charges and the most serious sentence that Britt could ever receive,” Porto said. “We don’t have the toxicology back, I don’t know what it is going to be. What I do know are the statements that he made to police that night. If you have two or three drinks, and then you get behind the wheel of a car, you are likely over the legal limit.”

Why Britt Reid has not yet been charged and why the actual hell we don’t have toxicology back almost a month after an accident where the driver admitted to drinking is beyond my comprehension. Reid deserves the full weight of the law for robbing Ariel Young of a healthy life.