In the quiet suburb of Grosse Pointe, Michigan, a heartbreaking story is unfolding—a story of loss, recklessness, and the devastating consequences of parental negligence. Last November, an 18-year-old star athlete’s life was tragically cut short in a high-speed crash, leaving his grieving parents to seek justice, not only against the reckless driver but also against the one person who could have prevented the tragedy: the driver’s own mother.
On November 17, 2022, Kiernan Tague, then 16, picked up his friend Flynn MacKrell, 18, a standout freshman swimmer at the University of Dayton, in his mother’s BMW X3 M series. The two friends were likely looking forward to a night of catching up during the Thanksgiving break. But just five minutes after leaving MacKrell’s home, their lives would change forever. Tague, driving at an astonishing 105 mph in a 25-mph zone, lost control of the powerful vehicle. The BMW crashed violently into a post and then a tree, splitting in two. MacKrell died on impact, while Tague, despite serious injuries, survived.
The crash not only robbed the MacKrell family of their beloved son but also exposed a disturbing pattern of reckless behavior that had been ignored—if not tacitly enabled—by Tague’s mother, Elizabeth Puleo-Tague. Despite knowing about her son’s dangerous driving habits, she continued to let him drive high-performance vehicles, with catastrophic results.
Text messages unearthed during the investigation reveal a mother who was fully aware of her son’s reckless behavior but failed to take meaningful action. On September 14, just two months before the fatal crash, Puleo-Tague sent a panicked text to her son after a GPS tracking app alerted her that he was driving at 123 mph in the family’s Audi coupe. “Slow the f–k down right now!” she demanded. But her warnings were hollow; weeks later, she purchased a new BMW, a vehicle capable of reaching 177 mph, and handed the keys to her son despite his history of dangerous driving.
Flynn MacKrell’s parents, Anne Vanker and Thad MacKrell, are now pursuing legal action against Puleo-Tague, arguing that she failed in her duty to prevent her son from driving recklessly. “She was sitting on a ticking time bomb. She knows he’s out of control, yet she basically gets him a weapon,” Vanker said, likening the situation to handing a loaded gun to a volatile individual. The analogy is chillingly apt; in this case, the “weapon” was a high-performance car in the hands of an irresponsible teenager.
The parallels between this case and the 2021 Oxford High School mass shooting are striking. In that tragedy, the shooter’s parents were convicted for their role in enabling their son’s access to a firearm. The MacKrell family sees a similar pattern of neglect and complicity in the actions of Puleo-Tague. They argue that she could have prevented the death of their son by taking away her son’s access to powerful vehicles. The fact that no charges have yet been filed against Puleo-Tague only adds to their frustration and determination.
Investigators have uncovered a disturbing pattern of behavior in Tague’s household. Text exchanges between mother and son paint a picture of a teenager who was out of control, routinely defying his mother’s authority. He took her credit cards without permission, stayed out late, and drove recklessly, all while his mother’s warnings went unheeded. In one shocking incident, Tague even assaulted his mother, an event that led to his arrest for domestic violence. Despite all this, she continued to allow him to drive her high-powered vehicles, a decision that would ultimately prove fatal.
The MacKrell family’s quest for justice is driven by a deep sense of loss and anger. “I want him in prison for as long as possible,” Vanker said, arguing that Tague deserves no leniency for his actions. “Why should he get a break? This kid had every break and every privilege there is.”
Tague is currently facing charges of second-degree murder, which in Michigan carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. However, because he is not being charged as an adult, the judge has the discretion to sentence him as a juvenile, an adult, or impose a blended sentence. The MacKrell family hopes that the severity of the crime will result in the harshest possible penalty.
As they await a trial date, the MacKrell family continues to mourn the loss of their son, a promising young athlete whose life was senselessly cut short. They are also determined to hold accountable not only the young man who caused their son’s death but also the parent who could have—and should have—prevented it. This case serves as a stark reminder of the responsibilities parents bear and the tragic consequences that can arise when those responsibilities are ignored.
