‘Bridgerton’ author Julia Quinn’s father and sister killed in accident
Writer says the crash was partly due to a drunk driver
Julia Quinn, the author of romantic book series ‘Bridgerton’, revealed on July 8 that her father and sister were killed in a road accident.
“I have lost my father and my sister. Because a catering company did not secure their load and canvas bags spilled onto the highway,” she wrote on Facebook.
“Because a pickup driver thought nothing of driving while his blood alcohol level was nearly 3 times the legal limit.”
According to news reports, the Utah Highway Patrol identified the two people killed in the multi-vehicle crash on June 29 as Stephen Lewis Cotler, 77, and Ariana Elise Cotler, 37.
“I have lost my father, and I don’t have my sister with whom to grieve,” Quinn added, remembering her sister who had just finished writing a graphic novel.
“It was dedicated to our father. It will still be dedicated to our father. It won’t be a surprise anymore, but I’d like to think he suspected we’d do it. He knew us so well. He was our dad,” the writer said.
A post on Stephen Cotler’s own Facebook page confirmed the news and gave a brief biography about the children’s book writer.
“Steve attended Harvard College and Harvard Business School and worked for many years in the corporate world. But his true passion was writing,” the post read. “He wrote the celebrated Cheesie Mack series for middle grade readers and made hundreds of school visits around the country, bringing his irrepressible spirit to thousands of children.”
The first book in Quinn’s ‘Bridgerton’ series released in 2000. It was adapted into the smash hit Netflix show of the same name in 2020. Produced by Shonda Rhimes, the first season starred Phoebe Dynevor and Rege-Jean Page. The second season is currently in production with actors Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley taking the lead.