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Lehi man gets jail time for injuring boy with fireworks

I ache for all the involved parties.

But 21 days is not something that is egregious. It will deter others who would think that they didn't have to take their actions seriously.

I think this is about the right punishment.

The hospital bills will never be paid in full unless someone with big pockets steps forward. So even if Bridger and family want no jail time, the cost is borne by society and there needs to be some accounting.

The initial sentence seems reasonable. There was clearly no malice intended.

Much has been made of the mother's refusal to litigate. I would like to see an analysis of the legal rights of the child and the State (who is paying for care through Medicaid). Also curious if the defendants home owners insurance would be liable. It is my understanding that the 3 year statute of limitations will not start until the child turns 18 (his informed discovery).

That would allow a decade for the boy to independently determine if and how much reimbursement is appropriate to make up for his diminished quality of life and reduced future income potential.

Sad and unfortunate situation. I reflect at the stupid things I have done and consider myself fortunate that no one has been seriously injured as the result of my actions.

While we can not condone what happened, I do think that Mr. Miller should be recognized as a good example of taking responsibility for his actions. He made a mistake, there were consequences and he has owned up to them. What a better world this would be if people owned up to consequences of their actions.

My prayers continue to go out to young Bridger, his family and the family of Mr. Miller.

I commend the man for facing up to his errors. He made a mistake and has always admitted it and took responsibility. The sentance seems fair. I hope for a speady recovery for the boy

21 days? less than a month?

I believe this is definately the only real justice I have seen in the state of utah in the last 15 years.

I went to high school with Craig Miller. His heart has always been in the right place. There are no winners in this event. Hopefully we can all become better people because of this.

21 days is an outrageous sentence. This is not a case of the victim's family vs Miller, it is a case of the STATE OF UTAH vs Miller. It is good for the peace of the family for them to forgive him, but it is not the business of the state. He committed a felony by every account. Had the boy died, it would have been manslaughter. Accident or not, Miller engaged in criminal behavior when he touched off the bomb that some insist on calling a firework. He should be serving his time in the Utah State Prison and it should be way more than 21 days.

This kind of case is a reminder that civil law is always clumsy in doing justice.

4th District Judge Howard should be rembered by the rest of us as a man of good sense and worthy of re-election.

Certainly Mr. Miller won't make the mistake again. If Bridger and his family can forgive and ask for leniency; shouldn't we?

A couple weeks in jail is forgiveness and leninecy. No leniency and forgiveness would have been several years in jail. They cut him a lot of slack. If I were him I would be thanking the stars I would only serve 21 days.

“Miller engaged in criminal behavior”
What Miller did was stupid, not a crime. It is illegal to posses a bomb, and he made a firework that that behaved in the worst way(as a bomb with shrapnel). So ya, lets put him in the same boat as thief’s, drug dealers and rapists. Kids and adults modify or make fireworks all the time. They even fire illegal firewalls.

Those turds in the court where out for blood. If this wasn’t such a news story that the court frothing at the mouth and not out for blood, he would have gotten away with a fine.

From the page: “159 days on the jail's ankle-monitoring GPS system”
What is that suppose to do? He is no threat to anyone! Yea, lets just make life worse for the guy that had an accident that nearly took someone’s life and cost taxpayers money.

They could have given him a small fine, a slap on the wrist, and make him help pay for the medical bills, would have been better for everyone.

Well we certainly have people lined up to cast the first stone. We will always have those who lust over yellow journalisms that these kinds of incidents create. Thank you Bridger's mother for being such a good example in tragedy like this, if jury's were this forgiving, the state would have not wasted all that money to prosecute and imprison, for something that was obviously not intentional.

I would hope he can serve his time on the weekends where it won't impact his gainful employment. I agree his actions were inappropriate and caused serious harm, but it was not intentional. Doesn't do anyone any good if he loses his job. Better that he is gainfully employed and can maybe help pay off the boy's medical bills. This has been hanging over his head for 6 months and then the ankle bracelet for 5+ months, and even then more probation? Just because his incarceration time is 21 days doesn't mean that's the only impact he is seeing.

YES, 21 days is less than a month.

While the pleas for leniency from Bridger Hunt's family are admirable, there has to be some accountability for Miller's actions. Just because there was no malice in Miller's actions, we as a society just can't excuse and dismiss stupid, immature, reckless actions. Otherwise, there would be no motivation to think twice about commiting stupid acts that turn out to seriously harm someone and then just have it pushed aside with "Well, he didn't mean it." This guy should have used his brain and thought about the possible dangers of his actions. He is actually getting a light sentence considering the severity the injuries suffered by Bridger, so Miller should consider that leniency

What a fantastic recovery by Bridger! It's nice to finally see a picture of him in a recovered/recovering state and know that things are not nearly as dire as they were in July...

You mean our state does not have civil tort laws? Because you said their would be no motivation. Yo, I can think of hundreds of things that motivate people to not do stupid things, all much higher then the threat of criminal prosecution.