EVERETT — A man who was acquitted July 12 of vehicular homicide in the deaths of two little girls has drowned.

The death of Todd E. Brown, 52, of Granite Falls, was ruled an accident, the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office reported Tuesday.

Brown apparently went swimming with his girlfriend Saturday in the Skykomish River, off Ben Howard Road.

She said they tried to swim across. Only she made it, Sultan Fire Chief Merlin Halverson said.

The woman apparently pulled Brown to shore and began resuscitation efforts. Firefighters continued CPR on the way to the hospital, where Brown later died.

Brown had a bench trial in June, meaning a judge decided the case instead of a jury.

Brown was driving a Ford pickup on I-5 near Lynnwood in February 2017 when he collided with a minivan. Multiple children in the van were injured, and two of them died: Amiyah Johnson, 12, and Yesterday Wallace, 2.

Lab tests showed methamphetamine in Brown’s blood after the crash. He was charged with two counts of vehicular homicide while under the influence.

His defense attorney said there was insufficient evidence of impairment.

Earlier this month, Superior Court Judge Linda Krese determined there was too little science available to draw conclusions about the effects of the drug on driver behavior. She found Brown not guilty.

Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @rikkiking.