Judge sentences woman who killed two motorcyclists in rural Saginaw County crash

SAGINAW, MI — Every time Mya Palacio hears a siren, she is transported back to the day her father was killed while riding his motorcycle through rural Saginaw County.

“Losing my father was the worst pain I’ve ever felt,” Palacio told Saginaw County District Judge Terry L. Clark on Sept. 3. “Life without my dad doesn’t make sense.”

She appeared before a judge nearly a year after her 54-year-old father, Kevin J. Palacio, was killed along with his beloved friend, 45-year-old Amanda L. Klich, on Sept. 19, 2023.

Nearby, waiting for sentencing, sat Jenna E. Vargas, 23, who pleaded guilty in July to one count of careless driving, a 93-day misdemeanor. In exchange, prosecutors dismissed two counts of careless driving causing death, one-year misdemeanors.

After visiting a relative in East Lansing, Vargas was driving an SUV north on M-52 (South Oakley Road) near Harris Road in Brady Township. Kevin Palacio and Klich were traveling in the opposite direction on a motorcycle.

Vargas entered the southbound lane to pass another vehicle and struck the motorcycle. Paramedics pronounced Palacio and Klich dead at the scene, while Vargas was uninjured.

Since her father’s death, Mya Palacio has been suffering from panic attacks. She can’t breathe, and her heart feels like it’s pounding out of her chest.

“He was not only a father, but my hero, the one person who supported me through thick and thin,” the grieving daughter continued. “I was like my father in every way. I wanted to be more like him—loving, kind, and considerate.”

She described her father’s love as the strongest force in the universe. He loved to organize family gatherings and had an understanding nature, something his daughter said she found difficult to accept.

Kevin Palacio’s sister, April Palacio, sobbed as she spoke, and Clark told her to take her time. Her brother was killed two days before her birthday, permanently tarnishing her birthday. Their mother is also grieving, often saying she wants to be with her dead son, she said.

“We are so broken, confused and numb,” April Palacio said through tears. “It’s like we don’t know how to navigate this life without Kevin. Everything is different and nothing will ever be the same.”

Vargas looked at April Palacio and nodded as she spoke. Her attorney, Sara K. Coaster, confronted the Palacio family and offered her condolences. She recalled that Vargas had visited her office the day after the accident.

“The young woman I saw in my office was a shadow of a person, catatonic and devastated,” Coaster said. “She knew the loss she had caused. She knew the holes she had left in these two families, and the knock-on effect has been absolutely devastating.”

Vargas was diagnosed with PTSD after the crash. She did not have any drugs or alcohol in her system at the time of the crash and was not using her phone at the time, Coaster said.

Vargas also stated that September 19, 2023, was the worst day of her life.

“It breaks my heart that I continue to live my life as if everything is okay, because it’s not,” she said. “I struggled a lot with survivor’s guilt and felt like I didn’t deserve happiness because of the lives lost and the families I destroyed.”

She added that she does not expect forgiveness, stating that her pain is a fraction of what the Palacio and Kilch families are feeling.

Vargas told the deceased’s relatives that she would forever carry the burden of their deaths.

“That day changed me and I can either let it destroy me or I can become a better person because of it,” she said. “It was a terrible accident, but it was My accident.”

Judge Clark told the Palacios that he felt their pain. He encouraged them and Vargas to continue therapy so they could overcome their pain.

Saying he had trouble shaping Vargas’ sentence, Clark ordered her to pay a $500 fine — the maximum allowed — along with a $675 fine and costs. He gave Vargas until Nov. 3 to pay the entire debt. If she doesn’t, she will have to spend 92 days in jail.

Before Vargas left the courtroom, Clark again encouraged her to forgive herself.

“You’re going to carry this,” he said. “I don’t know how you’re going to get through this. Honestly, I don’t know. It’s going to take a lot of therapy to get you to move forward.”