SALT LAKE CITY -- The 79-year-old driver who hit and killed a bicyclist in Millcreek Canyon quietly pleaded guilty to a class "B" misdemeanor.
That conviction would land David Bertleson, the driver from New Mexico, up to six months in jail.
Bertleson struck 60-year-old Anthony Quinn, a third district court judge, while the victim was biking up the canyon in May of 2013.
Salt Lake City District Attorney Sim Gill said such a light sentence undermines the fact Bertleson took a human life.
"There are these rare, tragic situations where we need to be able to have some proportionality of accountability that is consistent with a loss of life," Gill said. "That was really a deficit [in the law] that we saw, unfortunately as a result of this case."
Gill said he hopes the Utah legislature will consider revising the law during its next legislative session.
