Father, sister of ‘Bridgerton’ author Julia Quinn killed in Utah crash

The father and sister of “Bridgerton” writer Julia Quinn were killed in a highway pile-up in Utah, the grieving author said. 

Stephen Lewis Cotler, 77, and Violet Charles, 37, died in a crash last week on Interstate 15 in Davis County — which began when a catering company’s load of canvas bags spilled onto the road, sparking a chain-reaction smash-up involving a drunk driver, the Utah Department of Public Safety said.  “I have lost my father and my sister,” Quinn, whose real name is Julie Pottinger, said in a heartbreaking Facebook post Wednesday night. “Because a catering company did not secure their load and canvas bags spilled onto the highway. Because a pickup driver thought nothing of driving while his blood alcohol level was nearly 3 times the legal limit.”