Truck Driver sentenced to 110 years in prison

COLORADO, Dec. 2021- Rogel Aguilera-Mederos a 26-year-old who was on his way to transport

timber crashed into vehicles in Colorado, killing a total of four people on Oct. of 2019. Later

that month Aguilera-Mederos was found guilty of vehicle homicide and 23 other charges. He

was then sentenced 110-years, to the minimum available on all counts. The 23 charges included

six counts of assault in the first degree, then 10 counts of attempt to commit assault: two

counts of vehicle assault and one count of reckless driving.

Aguilera-Mederos lost control of the vehicle because his brakes failed. The truck was

continuously driving at a speed of 85 mph, with no ability to stop on interstate 70 in Denver. He

tried to pull over to avoid other cars but was not able to due to the fact that another truck has

had pulled over. The truck then crashes into a fiery pile of 28 cars, which left 4 people dead.

Prosecutors say that Aguilera-Mederos knew his breaks were failing, which lead him to get

sentenced as long as he did. Also, Aguilera-Mederos drove past at least one runaway truck

ramp, which is a ramp that helps truck drivers get to safety.

People protested against the sentenced of Aguilera-Medero. ”More than five million people,

including reality TV star and law student Kim Kardashian West, signed a petition that called for

a reduction in his lengthy prison sentence” states BBC News. This shows that many people were

there to support Aguilera-Mederos. On Dec. 30, 2021, Gov. Jared Polis reduced the sentence to

10-years. “The judge’s sentence of 110 years is unjust and not in line with prior case law, and we

are thankful that the Governor agrees with us,” Martinez said in a statement. “We are reviewing

this commutation of the sentence with Rogel and his family. The potential for Rogel to be
reunited with his family rather than spend a lifetime behind bars is exciting for all involved” says

ABC News in Denver.

Sources: All news sources

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59839723

https://kesq.com/news/2021/12/14/the-truck-driver-in-a-fatal-2019-colorado-crash-was-

sentenced-to-110-years-in-prison/

https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/gov-polis-reduces-truckers-sentence-to-10-

years

https://people.com/crime/prosecutor-asks-reconsider-sentence-trucker-fatal-crash/