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LAYTON — A woman who faced a misdemeanor charge as one of two drivers who struck and killed a Layton teen in a crosswalk was sentenced Tuesday to home confinement.
Julia Nielson, 38, pleaded guilty last week to failure to keep a proper lookout, a class C misdemeanor, in the death of 17-year-old BaiLee DiBernardo, a junior at Layton High School.
A judge Tuesday suspended all but five days of a 90-day jail sentence for Neilson, and allowed the Layton woman to serve 10 days home confinement in lieu of the jail time.
A $500 fine, 18 months probation and a defensive driving course were also ordered for Nielson.
Neilson and another driver, Leroy Clark, 32, of Clinton, were charged in March after DiBernardo was killed walking to school. Clark pleaded guilty and was sentencedin May to serve two days in jail, followed by 58 days of home confinement and probation, completion of a defensive driving course and a $700 fine.
Layton Attorney's Office spokesman Steve Garside said at the time the charges were filed that Clark had just dropped something, possibly a drink or food item, and was reaching to pick it up when he hit DiBernardo and another student. Neilson, who was driving behind him, also ran over DiBernardo.
The accident occurred in a crosswalk at 199 N. Fort Lane, about 75 yards away from the school. DiBernardo was taken to Davis Hospital and Medical Center where she was pronounced dead. The other student was taken to McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden in serious condition and later recovered.