COUNCIL BLUFFS, Ia. — A former police officer has been given two years of probation for leaving the scene of a fatal accident with a bicyclist in western Iowa.

Pottawattamie County court records say Robert Christensen, 56, pleaded guilty Monday. The judge granted Christensen a deferred judgment. Under a deferred judgment, Christensen's conviction could be removed from his record if he were to successfully complete the terms of his probation.

Christensen had retired from the Council Bluffs police force.

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The May 11 accident occurred a little after 2 a.m. on the north end of Council Bluffs, authorities said. Deputies found bicyclist William Shepard, 55, in a roadside ditch, and he died later at a hospital.

Christensen contacted county communications a little after 7:30 a.m. and reported that he may have been the driver whose pickup truck struck Shepard.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Former Iowa police officer gets probation for leaving scene of accident