New details on cause of crash that killed Tri-Cities deputy prosecutor and family
A 2-year-old is out of the hospital after his parents and two siblings died in a violent Fourth of July crash.
The boy, Grant Bartlett, is with other family members now, Benton County Sheriff Lt. Jason Erickson told the Tri-City Herald on Monday.
Investigators believe his father Bradley H. Bartlett, a Benton County deputy prosecutor, was behind the wheel of a Mazda CX-9 when he missed a stop sign and was broadsided by a pickup truck, Benton County Sheriff Tom Croskrey said.
The small SUV was headed south on Travis Road about 6:30 p.m. Thursday when it drove into the Sellards Road intersection. A Ford F-250 slammed into the driver’s side, killing four of the five people inside.
Bartlett, 35, died along with his wife, Alexandra, 31, their 9-year-old daughter Scarlett and 4-week-old daughter Violet.
The pickup driver, Trevor Wagenaar, was treated at Prosser Memorial Hospital.
Croskrey told the Herald they likely will never know why Bartlett didn’t stop for the sign on the paved rural two-lane road that runs through rolling hills and farmland south of Benton City and west of Badger Mountain.
Drivers on Travis Road have a stop sign and the Sellards Road traffic does not.
There were no skid marks showing that Bartlett saw the sign and tried to stop, Croskrey said. All were wearing seat belts or in car seats, said investigators.
An autopsy on Bartlett was performed over the weekend. The results are pending, said coroner officials.
Deputy prosecutor
Bartlett was five months into his job as a criminal prosecutor for Benton County when he died. He was one of 18 attorneys handling felony cases, according to the prosecutor’s website.
He graduated from Cornell University in 2011 with a degree in political science and then from Cornell Law School in 2014.
He worked for various law firms and prosecutors’ offices in Texas, New Mexico and Washington before coming to the Tri-Cities in March.
That includes nearly two years as an assistant U.S. attorney and as a deputy prosecutor in Snohomish County.
Benton County Prosecutor Eric Eisinger said last week that “Brad was a fantastic person and a fantastic prosecutor and his loss will be felt deeply by our office and the community.”
“He was a fantastic guy and had a heart for public service and a big heart for his family.”
This story was originally published July 8, 2024 at 12:14 PM.