Bridgerton author Julia Quinn has suffered a double tragedy after her father and younger sister were killed by a drunk driver in an horrific car accident.
The 51-year-old American novelist announced the shocking news to fans in a heart-rending Facebook post, telling them: 'I have lost my father and my sister. 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 three times the legal limit.
'I have lost my father, and I don't have my sister with whom to grieve.'
Ms Quinn – real name Julia Pottinger – said her father, Steve Cotler, 77, and cartoonist sister Violet Charles, 37 – real name Ariana Elise Cotler - died on June 29 in the crash in Utah, along with Violet's dog Michelle.
The crash, at 8.30pm on Interstate 15 in David County, involved multiple vehicles according to the State Highway Patrol.
After the lorry shed its load of bags, various vehicles, including the Prius containing the Cotlers, came to a halt, but the drunk driver's huge Ford F-250 pickup truck crashed into the rear of the Prius, forcing it into a third car, whose two occupants were also seriously injured. Another man was airlifted to hospital in a critical condition.
Both the Cotlers died at the scene. The pick-up driver had minor injuries and was arrested.
Bridgerton author Julia Quinn has suffered a double tragedy after her father and younger sister were killed by a drunk driver in an horrific car accident
Ms Quinn said her father, Steve Cotler (left), 77, and cartoonist sister Violet Charles, 37 – real name Elise Cotler - died on June 29 in the crash in Utah, along with Violet's dog Michelle
Pictured: Quinn (centre) on the set of Bridgerton with actresses Claudia Jessie (left) and Nicola Coughlan
Ms Quinn said she was collaborating on a graphic novel with Violet which they had just completed, to be dedicated to their father.
She added: '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.'
She also shared a message along with her other siblings as a tribute to her father, who had a career in business after graduating from Harvard, but then became a screenwriter and children's author, penning the successful Cheesie Mack series of books.
Violet Charles, a talented
