Millions signed an online petition to lessen the sentencing for Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, the 26-year-old truck driver who was sentenced to a minimum of 110 years in prison after killing four people in a fiery crash on a Colorado highway.
Mederos was convicted for causing a deadly pileup after losing control of his semitrailer on Interstate 70 near Denver on April 25, 2019.
He was 23 at the time.
According to The Denver Post, District Court Judge Bruce Jones imposed the sentence after finding it was the mandatory minimum sentence set forth under the state law.
Said Jones:
"I will state that if I had the discretion, it would not be my sentence."
Here\u2019s the media story\n\nRogel Aguilera-Mederos was not drunk. He was not high. He was not distracted. His brakes unexpectedly failed & he couldn\u2019t stop\n\nHe should absolutely be civilly liable for the 4 innocent people killed. But 110 years prison is unjusthttps://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/more-than-2-million-sign-petition-to-change-sentence-of-i-70-truck-driver-who-caused-deadly-crash\u00a0\u2026— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@Qasim Rashid, Esq.) 1639924446
Online supporters who believed the crash was unintentional started a Change.org petition asking Colorado Governor Jared Polis to grant Aguilera-Mederos clemency or commutation as time served.
Truckers also boycotted Colorado in protest.
Truckers aren\u2019t entering Colorado in protest of Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos getting a 110 year sentence after his breaks failed and his truck killed 4 people, a tragedy the company should be liable for. I think we\u2019re about to see the power of truckers.pic.twitter.com/FdC718pQ1I— Read Teaching to Transgress by bell hooks (@Read Teaching to Transgress by bell hooks) 1639850706
You can watch the CBS Denver news report, here.
Fox 13 reported a jury convicted Aguilera-Mederos of "four counts of vehicular homicide, six counts of first-degree assault, 10 counts of attempted first-degree assault, four counts of careless driving causing death, two counts of vehicular assault and one count of reckless driving."
More than four million people have signed a petition that says a 2019 crash in Colorado that left four people dead was a "tragic accident," and that the truck driver, Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, should have his 110-year sentence reduced.https://nyti.ms/3EaUamG— The New York Times (@The New York Times) 1639960207
Investigators said Aguilera-Mederos was hauling lumber on a stretch of the interstate with a commercial vehicle speed limit of 45 mph.
However, he was careening down at 85 mph due to the steep descent from the Rocky Mountain foothills,
Aguilera-Mederos testified the brakes on his semitrailer failed and he crashed into vehicles that had apparently slowed for a different wreck near the Denver suburb of Lakewood.
The crash from his semitrailer caused a 28-vehicle pileup which resulted in a giant fireball erupting from a ruptured gas tank that consumed several vehicles and melted parts of the highway.
Prosecutors argued he could've used one of several runaway ramps designed to prevent collisions in the event a truck driver lost control of their vehicle.
Police said Aguilera-Mederos had passed a runaway ramp before reaching the crash site.
The pileup accident killed Miguel Angel Lamas Arellano, 24; William Bailey, 67; Doyle Harrison, 61; and Stanley Politano, 69.
It was an accident treated like it was intent, sad for families who lost lived ones. Less time is given to these gun touting murders aka Rittenhouse and the Highschool/ Church shooters.— Rod (@Rod) 1639975272
The petition's author, Heather Gilbee, stated Aguilera-Mederos had a clean driving record and no criminal history. She faulted the trucking company as the reason for the tragic accident.
"He had complied with every single request by the Jefferson County courts, and investigators on the case," wrote Gilbee.
"He's passed all of the drug and alcohol tests that were given including a chemical test."
"This accident was not intentional, nor was it a criminal act on the driver's part. No one but the trucking company he is/was employed by should be held accountable for this accident."
He should not be in prison. It was a horrible accident. Very sad. It\u2019s a large crowd in support.— John Halloran (@John Halloran) 1639961395
He wasn't drunk, wasn't on drugs,at work and lost his breaks coming down a mountain in a truck loaded with lumber.... Where do I sign up! If his name was Bob Smith it would already be in front of the Supreme Court.— Hal Bundy (@Hal Bundy) 1639960473
Gilbee didn't minimize the magnitude of the tragedy and she acknowledged the lives lost, but she wanted to "hold the person who needs to be held responsible, responsible."
"The trucking company has had several inspections since 2017, with several mechanical violations," she continued.
"There are many things Rogel could have done to avoid the courts, but he took responsibility showed up, and severely apologized to the victims' families."
"Some of the families even offered Forgiveness. Rogel is not a criminal, the company he was working for knew the federal laws that go into truck driving but they failed to follow those laws."
The system has definitely failed him. The truck driving company should be held responsible for his brakes failing him. I'm so disgusted.— Maggie LopezLavalle (@Maggie LopezLavalle) 1639982668
You want to fix this? Here\u2019s how\n\nMonday morning call the Colorado governors office 303-866-2471 and tell them you demand the release of Rogel Aguilera-Mederos\n\nIf the line is busy, good, it\u2019s working. Call back in 20 minutes. If they can\u2019t get anything done, they\u2019ll fix it.pic.twitter.com/PNQsfVwPUj— TDR Studios \u24cb (@TDR Studios \u24cb) 1639893845
A spokesperson for Change.org said the campaign was the fastest-growing petition in all of 2021, with around 45,000 signatures within an hour of its posting on Wednesday.
Attorney Bryan Kuhn told FOX 31 Denver Aguilera-Mederos' story resonated with millions of people because they believed the crash was not a criminal act.
"There doesn’t seem to be an intentionality of murder, and he’s getting a sentence that would rival a mass murderer," Kuhn said.
"I think that is not sitting well, I think a lot of people think there maybe should be a long jail sentence, but this may be just a little too much for some folks."
At his sentencing, Aguilera-Mederos wept as he apologized to the victims' families and asked them for forgiveness.
"I am not a criminal," he said.
"I am not a murderer. I am not a killer. When I look at my charges, we are talking about a murderer, which is not me. I have never thought about hurting anybody in my entire life."
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