Family rallies for orphan

Relatives have gathered around the 2-month-old girl who was the sole survivor of her immediate family when an allegedly drunken driver crashed into their car early Friday on Highway 95 near Bonners Ferry, Idaho.

Lyssa Saunders remained in critical condition Saturday evening at Sacred Heart Medical Center.

Her family was driving back to the Kootenai reservation after visiting Lyssa’s paternal grandmother Thursday night, relatives said. Lyssa’s father, Bart Bartron of Bonners Ferry, was visiting for two weeks from Ft. Richardson near Anchorage, Alaska, where he was stationed in the Army.

“Bart was on a whirlwind tour to go visit everyone,” his father, Glen Bartron, said Saturday.

The Idaho State Police said the family’s Plymouth Neon was headed north on Highway 95 at 3:19 a.m. when a southbound Dodge Quad-Cab pickup truck, driven by Luke Peterson, 26, of Naples, crossed the centerline and slammed into them.

The crash killed Lyssa’s father, Bartron, 24; her mother, Tabitha C. Saunders, 21, and her 2-year-old sister, Kjestine Saunders.

Peterson faces three counts of vehicular manslaughter and a count of aggravated DUI. His bail has been set at $1 million.

Bart Bartron was born on the Paiute reservation in Bishop, Calif., and moved around during his childhood because his father was in the military.

“Bart was a man of integrity, initiative. He had a good heart,” Glen Bartron said. “He was an example to all who were around him.”

The younger Bartron joined the military to pay off debts he had incurred from four auto accidents he was involved in while he was riding his mountain bike, his father said. In one case, a driver who had a suspended license and no insurance ran a stop light and hit Bartron.

“You would have thought he was bulletproof,” Glen Bartron said.

Funeral arrangements are pending.