Saginaw Man Found Guilty of Crash Killing Two People In Kalamazoo County

A Saginaw man was convicted in Kalamazoo County this week to two counts of driving while intoxicated causing death.

28-year-old Ezra Phillips faces 15-years in prison on the felony counts. On May 7, 2021 Phillips crashed into the vehicle driven by 83-year-old Joel Shaffer. Shaffer and his passenger 84-year-old Dolores Shaffer both died in the crash on U.S. 131 south of Schoolcraft in Kalamazoo County.

Phillips reportedly had a blood alcohol content of 0.16, which is two times the legal limit in Michigan. Crash reconstruction showed he was driving at 115 miles per hour in the 55 mile per hour zone just seconds before impact.