COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – After consultation with the family of the woman killed in a Bethel Township traffic accident last year, the Branch County prosecutor’s Office has accepted a plea to a reduced charge from the at-fault driver.
19-year-old Dylan Sadger pleaded no contest Monday to reckless driving causing serious impairment in a plea agreement after the traffic death of 58-year-old Laurie Bradley of Bath May 20, 2022.
The crash at Sikorski and Gilead Lake Road in Bethel Township occurred five days before Sadger’s 18th birthday. The case was in juvenile court until transferred to the circuit court in April.
Prosecutor Zack Stempien says he talked to the victim’s family, who agreed to the plea to the five-year felony. Under the agreement, the charge will be reduced to a misdemeanor with successful completion of probation. The 15-year felony of reckless driving causing death will be dismissed.
Michigan State Police said Sadger’s SUV was eastbound on Sikorski Road when it failed to stop at the stop sign at the intersection. The SUV struck Bradley’s southbound truck sending both vehicles into the east side ditch.
Laurie Bradley died at the scene. Sadger and Todd Bradley were transported to Bronson Hospital of Kalamazoo in critical condition. Two Bronson teens in Sadger’s SUV were treated at ProMedica Hospital in Coldwater.
The sentencing will be August 28, 2023. The maximum sentence for Sadger would be one year in the county jail.
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