Bridgerton author Julia Quinn mourns deaths of dad and sister killed in car crash

Kaysville, Utah — Two people were killed in a Kaysville highway accident last month involving a drunk driver and a truck that lost an unsecured load.

According to the author of the famed “Bridgerton” series, her father and sister were the victims.

On Wednesday, Julia Quinn mourned the loss of her father, Steve Cotler, and sister, Violet Charles in a Facebook post.

“I have lost my father, and I don’t have my sister with whom to grieve,” wrote Quinn.

According to police reports, on June 29, a multi-vehicle accident on Interstate 15 began when canvas bags fell from a catering company truck, causing vehicles behind to stop or slow. Soon after, a truck driven by Myron Millsap Barlow slammed into the cars ahead, including the Prius in which Cotler and Charles were in.

Barlow was charged with multiple counts of DUI and automobile homicide after registering a blood-alcohol level almost three times the legal limit.

Cotler was also a writer, having created the popular “Cheesie Mack” book series aimed at middle school readers. Charles, whose service dog, Michelle, was also killed in the accident, was a cartoonist who Quinn wrote had just completed a graphic novel that was to be dedicated to their father.