SAN DIEGO -- Gary Miller said he was attending the National Education Association Convention here in San Diego when his Blackberry went off in his pocket. That's when, he said, his life turned upside down.

The husband of the woman killed in a pedicab accident on the 4th of July has ended his silence, speaking exclusively Tuesday with 10News.

Less than a month after the fatal accident Gary Miller put words on paper, illustrating his loss.

He wrote, "On the fourth of July, my world was suddenly shattered. In what should have been a leisurely three or four block ride on a beautiful day in a San Diego pedicab, my wife, Sharon, was jolted from her seat and suffered a fatal head injury."

10News reporter Steve Fiorina spoke with him via telephone Tuesday at his home near Springfield, Illinois.

He said he was informed about the accident involving his wife, Sharon who had been out sightseeing that day, riding in a pedicab.

"It took a hard right turn, the seats were vinyl and her clothing was slippery. When he made the hard right turn, she slid off the seat, lost her balance, hit her head and that was it," said Miller in a telephone interview with 10News from his home in Illinois.

While devastated by his wife's death, he also felt compelled to write a letter of thanks to the city of San Diego, expressing a "tremendous debt of gratitude." He noted that "total strangers reacted immediately to provide first-aid and summon emergency personnel."

Miller also said, "Our family was offered the use of two homes in San Diego and at no time were we ever alone."

Sharon Miller is dead and, because of that, the San Diego City Council is cracking down on pedicab drivers. On Tuesday, the council took public comments on a new city ordinance that will tighten restrictions on pedicabs.

Safety is their top priority, several drivers insisted at the meeting Tuesday, but their vehicles are bicycles and California law won't currently allow a requirement that drivers be licensed, because they're not motorized vehicles.

Many local pedicab drivers also complained about people from other countries who descend on San Diego in the summer, competing for customers.

"Unfortunately, they can't handle traffic when they don't even have experience driving cars," said pedicab driver Ramon Guzman.

Guzman and others at the City Council meeting Tuesday said there is also a call for a regulated rate structure, in light of cries of price-gouging.

Miller told 10News donations can be made to the Sharon Miller Scholarship Fund, IEA Region 47, 3440 Liberty Drive, Springfield, IL 62704