I-70 Crash: DA Requests Hearing For Aguilera-Mederos' Sentence

Lakewood CO

21 December, 2021

5:02 PM

Description

JEFFERSON COUNTY, CO — The Jefferson County district attorney filed a motion to reconsider Rogel Aguilera-Mederos' 110-year prison sentence. The truck driver caused a deadly crash on I-70 in 2019. District Attorney Alexis King filed the motion to request a hearing. "As Colorado law required the imposition of the sentence in this case, the law also permits the Court to reconsider its sentence in an exceptional case involving unusual and extenuating circumstances," the motion reads. After the sentencing Dec. 13, millions of people signed an online petition asking Gov. Jared Polis to grant clemency to Aguilera-Mederos. His lawyer then turned in a clemency application to the governor's office, and Polis said it was under review. Aguilera-Mederos was driving the truck, a flatbed loaded with lumber, around 85 miles per hour eastbound down I-70, bypassing several emergency truck pull-off areas, police said. He then crashed into vehicles that were backed up after another crash on the highway, prosecutors said. The fiery crash damaged the highway and kept the road closed for more than 24 hours. Aguilera-Mederos told police that the brakes on his truck failed and he feared rolling his semitrailer, so he didn't pull off the highway. The victims of the crash were identified as William Bailey, 67, of Arvada; Doyle Harrison, 61, of Hudson; Miguel Angel Lamas Arellano, 24, of Denver; and Stanley Politano, 69, of Arvada. "It's been difficult, sometimes it feels like being half a person," said Kathleen Harrison, who lost her husband Harrison in the crash. She offered her statement during the sentencing. In October, Aguilera-Mederos was found guilty by jury on 27 counts, including vehicular manslaughter, vehicular assault, first-degree assault, first-degree attempt to commit assault, reckless driving and careless driving. He was also found not guilty on 15 counts of first-degree attempt to commit assault. During testimony, Aguilera-Mederos's defense argued that the brakes on his truck were faulty, while prosecutors argued that the driver made a series of bad choices leading to the crash, including not using a runaway truck ramp to the highway. Deadly I-70 Crash: Truck Driver Found GuiltyTruck Driver Accused In Deadly I-70 Crash Pleads Not Guilty'I Have Flashbacks': Semi Driver Cries Over Deadly I-70 Crash