Island County defendants sued in wrongful death case after fatal crash

The parents of Anna Albert have filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Snohomish County Superior Court following a 2024 fatal hit-and-run crash on North Whidbey. The lawsuit names Travis Loetterle, Yvette Dwonch-Esparza, Island County, and North End Medical Clinic as defendants.

In April, Loetterle pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and felony hit-and-run, receiving a 10-year prison sentence. According to police reports, Loetterle was driving a Ford F250 belonging to Dwonch-Esparza when he crossed the centerline on East Crescent Harbor Road and struck Albert’s vehicle head-on.

The lawsuit alleges that the death was foreseeable and preventable, claiming defendants provided Loetterle with access to vehicles, controlled substances, and preferential treatment despite his history of substance abuse and outstanding warrants. Dwonch-Esparza, a licensed family nurse practitioner and medical director at the jail, reportedly took Loetterle to eat after the collision before driving him to the police station to turn himself in. The defendants have filed answers to the lawsuit denying the allegations.