BRANCH COUNTY — Dylan Sadger, 19, pleaded no contest Monday to reckless driving causing serious impairment in a plea agreement after the traffic death of Laurie Bradley, 58, of Bath, on May 20, 2022.
The sentencing will be on Aug. 28.
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 said 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.
Defense attorney Ryan Bucklin said the maximum jail time Circuit Judge Bill O’Grady can impose is one year in county jail.
The 15-year felony of reckless driving causing death will be dismissed.
Stempien said Bradley’s husband “Certainly wanted there to be some justice on this case. But he also realized that there was a young man he did not necessarily want to see put into prison.”
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.
Sadger and Todd Bradley were transported to Bronson Hospital of Kalamazoo in critical condition. Passenger Laurie Bradley, who was a passenger in the pickup, died at the scene.
The two Bronson teens in Sadger’s SUV were treated at ProMedica Hospital in Coldwater.
The wooded area at the intersection makes it difficult to see vehicles approaching from the west on Sikorski Road. Gilead Lake Road traffic does not stop.