MIAMI, Okla. – An Ottawa County nurse charged with first-degree manslaughter in the death of a Chinese national was held over for trial on Monday.
Mindy McBrien, 49, of Fairland, is charged in Ottawa County District Court in Miami with first-degree manslaughter and leaving the scene of a crash. She is free on $150,000 bail and due back in court on June 20 for a district court arraignment.
She is accused in the Feb. 5, 2022, death of Guang Xin Ye.
Ye, of Miami, was killed in a traffic crash near 1205 E Steve Owens Blvd. in Miami. McBrien was allegedly driving the vehicle that hit Ye.
His death is listed as an accident, according to the 9-page autopsy report. Ye had 17 injuries to his head and neck, 14 injuries to his torso and 23 injuries to his hands and legs, the report states.
Surveillance videos from surrounding businesses reportedly show McBrien’s vehicle leaving the Elks Lodge parking lot and heading north on Main Street, turning eastbound onto Steve Owens Blvd., according to an arrest affidavit.
Ye’s scooter headlight is observed on a video disappearing under McBrien’s vehicle. Showers of sparks are seen coming from the bottom of McBrien’s Jeep, and moments later, first responders arrived and rendered aid to Ye, the video shows.
Four witnesses testified during an hour-and-half preliminary hearing.
“They believe my client was impaired or under the influence of alcohol or involuntary unknown substances,” said Winston Connor, II., McBrien’s attorney, referring to some of the witnesses’ testimony.
One witness testified McBrien consumed one beer at the Elks Lodge, another witness testified they saw her drink a beverage but was unsure what was in the glass, he said.
”My client has a gap of time of not having memory or any recollections of the night’s events,” Connor said.
One witness testified he was driving in the right lane of Steve Owens Blvd. and switched to the left lane to bypass Ye on his motor scooter and noticed the vehicle behind him, later identified as McBrien’s vehicle, didn’t switch lanes, said prosecutor Clint Ward.
An officer also testified in a separate incident he saw a vehicle, later identified as McBrien’s vehicle, abandoned on the side of the road. After interviewing McBrien at her residence, the officer believed she was too intoxicated to do the interview and asked her to come in the next day.
“She didn’t,” Ward said.
A search warrant of the underneath area of McBrien’s vehicle tested positive for Ye’s blood and hair, he said.
Xiulan Weng, the wife of Guang Xin Ye, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Phillip and Mindy McBrien. The case was settled for $100,000 in March, according to court documents.
