Colorado trucker who barreled down interstate at 85mph and killed four in two DOZEN-car pile-up is sentenced to 110 YEARS in prison
The driver of an 18-wheeler that barreled down an interstate at 85mph, causing a huge fireball crash that killed four people was sentenced on Monday to 110 consecutive years in prison.
Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, 26, was driving a semitruck down I-70 in Lakewood, Colorado when he crashed into two dozen vehicles - including four other semitrucks - stuck in rush-hour traffic on April 25, 2019.
The impact of the crash caused a giant fireball explosion that incinerated cars and trucks and killed four people.
More than two years later, on Monday, Aguilera-Mederos, of Texas, was sentenced to 110 consecutive years in prison by county court Judge A. Bruce Jones, who said his hands were tied due to mandatory minimum laws in the state.
He sentenced Aguilera-Mederos to the minimum in the range available to him on all 27 criminal counts, which must be served consecutively, the Denver Channel reports.
Before his sentencing on Monday, Aguilera-Mederos pleaded with a judge to give him a lighter sentence, claiming he is not a criminal and did not mean to hurt anybody
Among the vehicles he crashed into were four other semi-trucks
Prosecutors say Aguilera-Mederos, of Texas, was driving at 85mph when he crashed into two dozen cars on April 25, 2019 near the Denver West Colorado Mills Parkway
A giant fireball formed from the impact of the crash, incinerating some cars and trucks
Aguilera-Mederos, of Texas, was working for a Houston-based trucking company at the time of the fatal crash, when he was driving an 18-wheeler loaded with lumber.
Prosecutors said he barreled eastbound down the interstate from the mountains at speeds of 85mph. They say he also swerved at times, forcing others off the road before he crashed into two dozen vehicles causing a giant fireball, FOX 31 reports.
It left behind a scene of 'significant, just unbelievable carnage,' Lakewood Police Spokesman Ty Countryman said in a news conference following the deadly crash, noting that some bodies were still in the wreckage hours later, with video showing cars stopped in every direction as the huge fire spread, sending smoke billowing.
'This is looking to be one of the worst accidents we've had here in Lakewood,' Countryman said.
Four victims were killed in the crash, including: Doyle Harrison, 61, of Hudson, Colorado; William Bailey, 67, of Arvadal; Miguel Angel Lamas Arrellano, 24, of Denver; and Staney Politano, 69, of Arvada.
Six others were taken to the hospital for their injuries.
He was found guilty in October on 27 criminal charges including vehicular homicide, assault and reckless driving for a fiery crash in April 2019, and a county court judge on Monday said he had to sentence Aguilera-Mederos, pictured with his attorney, according to state minimums
Among the victims of the deadly crash were Stanley Politano, 69, of Arvada, Colorado, left, and Miguel Angel Lamas Arrelano, 24, of Denver, right,
Doyle Harrison was also killed in the inferno
Victim William Bailey is pictured with his wife Gage Evans
Aguilera-Mederos had claimed the brakes in his truck had failed and he lost control, but prosecutors argued in court that he could have taken steps to prevent the crash, including using a runaway truck ramp miles before the crash near the Denver West Colorado Mills Parkway, and said he made a 'bunch of bad decisions' instead.
Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, 26, was sentenced on Monday to 110 consecutive years in prison
His defense attorney claimed he did not know that his truck brakes were smoking or that he would not be able to stop. He also argued that Aguilera-Mederos' actions were a series of negligent decisions, and that he did not intend to hurt anybody.
But in October, a jury found him guilty of 27 criminal charges, including:
- Four counts of vehicular homicide
- Two counts of vehicular assault
- Six counts of assault in the first-degree with extreme indifference
- 10 counts of criminal attempt to commit assault in the first degree
- One count of reckless driving
- Four counts of careless driving causing death
He was also found not guilty of 15 counts of criminal attempts to commit assaults in the first degree.
Before his sentencing on Monday, Aguilera-Mederos pleaded with the judge to be lenient on him, breaking down in tears as he spoke.
'It's hard. This was a terrible accident, I know,' he said. 'I take the responsibility, but it was an accident.
Some of the lumber Aguilera-Mederos was transporting was strewn across I-70 as traffic was stopped in both directions
Smoke billowed throughout the sky in the aftermath of the crash
'I have never thought about hurting anyone in my entire life and Jesus Christ, he knows that, he knows my heart,' he continued. 'I am not a criminal, I am not a murderer.
'The accident - it wasn't intentional, it wasn't intentional Your Honor. I did all that I can as a man. I put myself in harms way to avoid harming anyone else.'
He claimed that he tried to avoid the traffic, and noted that he did not flee in the aftermath 'because I respect the laws.
'I want to say sorry, sorry for the loss, sorry for the people injured,' he concluded, noting: 'I ask ... God many times why them and not me.'
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December 14, 2021
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