Family upset after jury convicted driver on lesser charge in deadly 2020 crash
Jul 14, 2023, 10:35 PM
SALT LAKE CITY —Family members on Friday called it a “travesty” after a jury convicted the driver who killed their loved one of a lesser charge.
On Dec. 4, 2020, police said 28-year-old Mitchell Garrett Solstad ran a stop sign at 1100 E. Bryan Avenue and collided with another car, killing 55-year-old Arthur Miller.
Solstad was charged with second-degree felony manslaughter along with class B misdemeanor counts of driving with a measurable controlled substance, reckless driving, and use or possession of drug paraphernalia.
On Thursday, jurors had the choice of convicting Solstad on either manslaughter or class A misdemeanor negligent homicide and chose the latter.
Miller’s widow, Alicia Miller, said the negligent homicide charge comes with a much lighter possible sentence—roughly a year behind bars.
“The system failed us again and again and again,” Alicia Miller told KSL 5. “Unfortunately our system isn’t designed to protect those of us who are willing to obey the laws.”
During a hearing Friday, questions were raised about credit for time served.
Family members of Miller said they believed Solstad could be made a free man again soon, even though he faces a felony robbery charge in an unrelated 2020 case.
Alicia Miller said Solstad was found to be traveling somewhere between 52 and 59 miles per hour on a 25-mile-per-hour street in a quiet neighborhood when he collided with her husband.
“His car was going so fast it actually launched into my husband’s car,” she said.
Sentencing was set for Monday afternoon at Matheson Courthouse.
Miller’s daughter, Anne Marie, also said she was disappointed in the verdict.
“At the end of the day he took someone’s life and it doesn’t feel fair that he’s able to walk the streets like nothing happened,” she said. “It’s honestly really scary to think about he could do the same thing to someone else.”
Family members once again remembered Miller, a child psychiatrist, as a “wonderful” husband and father and as the “rock” of their family.
“Whenever anyone in our family was struggling he was always there to provide comfort and support in any way that he could,” an emotional Anne Marie Miller said.
Alicia Miller said her husband was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and he lived a life of service.
“Now, we’re left to pick up those pieces and try and carry on with that big hole in our life,” she said.
