A mother behind the wheel. A child on the hood.

*Sheila Kershner, a 32-year-old Mattawan resident, will spend at least six years in prison for a drunk driving crash that killed 8-year-old Alma Yoder* and critically injured her 12-year-old brother, according to court records from Van Buren County District Court.

Kershner rear-ended a horse-drawn Amish buggy on the morning of March 26, 2025, near County Road 215 and 60th Avenue in Lawrence Township. The crash happened around 8 a.m., about a mile from the Yoder family home, as the two children were on their way to school.

Alma Yoder died at the hospital after suffering severe injuries. Her brother Joey was critically injured but survived, according to Michigan State Police reports.

The plea deal and the sentence

Kershner entered no contest pleas in April to charges of operating while intoxicated causing death and operating while intoxicated causing injury, according to Van Buren County court documents. She was originally facing eight charges. Six were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

The judge sentenced Kershner to at least six years in prison on the OWI causing death charge. She also received a two-to-five-year sentence on the OWI causing injury charge, to be served concurrently, according to WOOD TV8 reporting.

Court officials said Kershner was under the influence of several controlled prescription substances at the time of the crash. Her own young children were in the vehicle with her, according to police reports.

A scene the judge could not ignore

During Kershner's initial arraignment in March 2025, a judge addressed her directly about what troopers found at the scene.

"When troopers got there, one of the children (from the buggy) was on the hood of the intoxicated driver's vehicle, and I don't know if your children saw that, but I can't imagine how traumatic that was for them."

A community that forgave

The Yoder family is part of the Old Order Amish community in Van Buren County. An Amish neighbor and friend of the family, Rudy Miller, spoke to WOOD TV8 at the time of the tragedy about Alma's life and the family's response.

"I'm sure they're totally... I mean, they forgive her, they know it's the hand of God. So I'm sure they absolutely don't hold anything against her for doing that. Of course it's sad that her daughter is no longer here but, we just feel it was the hand of God, so."

Miller added that Alma passed his house nearly every day on her way to school.

"She was a sweet little girl, always had a smile on her face. She actually, almost every day went by my house going to school, so, I won't be seeing that anymore."

What happens next

Kershner's sentence of at least six years means she will serve a minimum of that time before becoming eligible for parole consideration. The concurrent sentence on the injury charge does not extend her total time behind bars.

This story was reported by Michael Arney of Jack 106.5/WKZO, A.J. Evans of WOOD TV8, and Erik Wesner of Amish America.