A Plymouth man was sentenced to at least 10 years in prison for his role in a widely publicized, high-speed car crash in 2024 that killed a woman described as his “soulmate.”
Anthony Bradley, now 32, was sentenced to 10 to 14 years in state prison last week by Plymouth Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter while under the influence of alcohol and two lesser charges.
According to police reports and prosecutors, Bradley was driving his Jeep along Route 3 South at speeds as high as 141 miles per hour during a race with another car on Aug. 30, 2024.
When Bradley swerved to avoid a third car on the highway, his Jeep struck the car and flipped end over end several times, police reported.
Both he and his passenger, 29-year-old Lauren Eldridge, were thrown from the vehicle in the 10:30 p.m. crash.
Eldridge, of Natick, died after being airlifted to a Boston hospital, authorities said. She was a radiologic technologist and the mother of a young daughter.
In the years leading up to the crash, Bradley, of Plymouth, had been cited for multiple driving infractions — and had his license suspended — court records showed.
The driver whom police said Bradley was racing, Chevelle Borden of Fall River, was charged with reckless operation of a motor vehicle and was given a two-year suspended sentence in February.
Bradley also pleaded guilty to operating under the influence of alcohol and reckless operation of a motor vehicle and was sentenced to two years’ probation on those charges. The probation will begin after Bradley serves his prison sentence.
He also lost his driver’s license for 15 years.
In a sentencing memorandum, Plymouth County prosecutors Daniel Higgins and Jason Herron urged the judge to hand Bradley a slightly longer sentence — 12 to 14 years.
Prosecutors said Bradley was driving 141 mph as he approached a Mini Cooper in the right lane. Bradley tried to pass in the breakdown lane but struck the car.
The Jeep rolled over several times on its side down the highway, prosecutors said. Eldridge was ejected from the Jeep and found on the road.
The driver of the Mini Cooper was able to navigate her car back onto the road and call 911, the state police report said.
Bradley also was ejected from the Jeep — and admitted to first responders he had been drinking and consuming marijuana. At Massachusetts General Hospital, a blood test showed an alcohol level of 0.18 — more than twice the legal limit of 0.08, prosecutors said.
Bradley’s lawyer asked for a five-year prison sentence — the mandatory minimum for a conviction of manslaughter while under the influence.
In court papers, Paul Stanton, his lawyer, wrote that Bradley “fully recognizes the unimaginable tragedy and the irreversible loss of Lauren Eldridge’s life.”
“He understands that no sentence imposed by this court, and no words he could offer can lessen the grief experienced by Lauren’s family and loved ones,” Stanton wrote. “He has expressed profound sorrow for the devastating consequences of that day and accepts responsibility for the harm that was caused.”
Bradley, he wrote, has multiple “physical, neurological, and psychological conditions that continue to substantially impair his daily functioning and prevent him from returning to employment.”
Eldridge was Bradley’s “soulmate,” Stanton wrote. They met in kindergarten.
She was his “closest companion, best friend, and life partner. Together they had begun planning their future, discussing marriage, shopping for engagement rings together and the excitement they shared about their future,” he wrote.
“Following Lauren’s death, Mr. Bradley states he has remained devoted to her memory. He reports he has no intention of pursuing another romantic relationship and has instead devoted himself to his Orthodox Christian faith.”
Andrea Estes can be reached at andrea@plymouthindependent.org.