As a Michigan mother begged her son to "slow the f--- down" in a series of frantic texts, she had no idea that her words would foreshadow a tragic high speed crash that would leave one teen dead and the other's life forever altered.
Kiernan Tague, 17, had picked up his friend and neighbor the night of November 17, 2023, from his parents' home in Grosse Point, according to The Daily Mail.
Tague, who was driving his mother's BMW X3 M, lost control of the vehicle just five minutes later while traveling at speeds of 105mph and hit a pole before crashing into a tree.
The impact instantly killed McKrell, a standout swimmer at the University of Dayton.
Despite escaping with his life, Tague is currently on bond awaiting trial following his March second-degree murder charge.
Now his mother, Elizabeth Puleo-Tague, is under investigation after the text messages she sent her son the night of the crash came to light.
Puleo-Tague was allegedly aware of her son's dangerous speeding habit and had intimate knowledge due to a GPS app called Life360.
Meanwhile, McKrell's parents told the Detroit Free Press that Tague's mother should face criminal charges.
Flynn's mother, Anne, expressed, "It's like she handed him an AR-15," she told the news outlet.
Elizabeth reportedly wrote to Tague on September 14, 2023, two months before the crash: 'Slow the f*** down right now!'
At the time, Tague was a 16-year-old and had been caught traveling 123 mph in the family's Audi coupe.
"I have screen shots of you... doing 123 mph... It scares me to my bone," she said in another text exchange.
Anna Vanker and Thad Mackrell, Flynn's parents, want to use the messages in court to show how Elizabeth failed to take action to prevent her son from hurting others.
In a letter to local prosecutors, the parents said: "Tague was speeding over and over, and mom knew it."
Tague is not being charged as an adult but as 'adult designated,' which means that if convicted, he could be sentenced either as an adult or a juvenile, with the second-degree murder charge still carrying a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Grosse Point City police officers were able to show Tague had a history of bad behavior, including assaulting his mother in 2020.
Law enforcement produced a report, laying out more than 20 offenses.
"There was much conversation about Kiernan taking/using his mother's credit card without permission, being out during overnight hours without permission, and about Kiernan's extensive reckless driving habits," wrote one investigator, who cited extensive messages between the mother and son.
"She was sitting on a ticking time bomb," Vanker told the paper, adding:
"This kid had every break and every privilege there is; why should he get a break?"
Tague is currently awaiting a trial date.
