Wearing handcuffs and a jail jumpsuit, Justin Robertson pleaded guilty to murder for intentionally driving the wrong way on a Utah interstate and killing a woman in a head-on crash last year.

Robertson, 37, reached an agreement with prosecutors that will imprison him for between 20 and 30 years.

At a disposition hearing Wednesday afternoon in Third District Court, Robertson admitted he intentionally drove the wrong way on I-215 for six miles before crashing into two cars, killing 19-year-old Gwen Doner, and injuring her boyfriend and another driver.

“It was so difficult seeing the man that killed Gwen. We’re thankful he has taken accountability at least,” said Heather Myers, Gwen Doner’s mother. “Our hearts just long for her every moment of every day. I just miss my little girl.”

Doner and her boyfriend were driving home on I-15 around 9 p.m. on April 19, 2021 when the crash happened. They were at the interchange of southbound I-15 to eastbound I-215 in Murray when Robertson’s Chevy Avalanche hit the couple’s Ford Taurus head-on.

Doner was taken by medical helicopter to Intermountain Medical Center where she passed away.

Robertson was arrested at the scene and later charged with murder.

According to court documents, Robertson later admitted that he had driven the wrong way on the interstate.

“The defendant indicated he had done these things on purpose because he wanted to start something due to being mad at his life,” the plea agreement says.

Robertson admitted to using meth and intentionally ramming a Unified Police car outside a police station immediately before getting on the highway in the wrong direction.

“We are not going to shy away from calling it a murder, and then we are going to aggressively prosecute it. He intentionally drove in the wrong way, wanting to hit somebody and he knew what he was doing,” Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill told KUTV after Wednesday’s hearing.

Robertson pleaded guilty to eight felonies, including murder, a second degree felony. The plea agreement would include a recommendation that he serve no fewer than 20 years and a maximum sentence of 30 years, according to prosecutors.

“His actions that evening devastated our family and we get to live a nightmare every day of our life now,” said Brett Doner, Gwen Doner’s father.

Robertson’s sentencing is scheduled for October.