Jefferson County District Attorney Alexis King plans to ask a state judge on Monday to reduce trucker Rogel Aguilera-Mederos' sentence from 110 years to 20 to 30 years.
The trucker was sentenced to a more-than-life sentence for a 2019 crash on Interstate 70 eastbound that killed four people. King said she came to the conclusion after consulting with victims and victims' families all week.
Is 110 years out of whack?On April 25, 2019, Rogel Aguilera-Mederos was driving a semitrailer on Interstate 70 in Jefferson County when his brakes failed, according to testimony he later gave investigators.
The ensuing fiery crash killed four people, damaging and destroying 28 vehicles. Though the carnage apparently wasn’t intentional, Aguilera-Mederos faced 41 charges, including vehicular homicide. Aguilera-Mederos was not charged with driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
The 26-year-old Cuban immigrant was found guilty of 24 charges and sentenced on Dec. 16 to 110 years in prison.
+No one disputes that the brakes on Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos’s truck failed before the deadly Colorado highway collision that left four dead and half a dozen more injured.
i used to go round and round with another poster that hated 18 wheelers. i'd hafta agree with him on this one.Central to the trial: whether Aguilera-Mederos was responsible for a brake malfunction that caused him to ultimately lose control of the vehicle. A jury in October found Aguilera-Mederos guilty on dozens of counts, including vehicular homicide and first-degree assault.
“Either the defendant didn’t catch it like he was supposed to, or the defendant drove on his brakes the entire way and caused them to be that way,” a prosecutor said in court, according to KUSA. Prosecutors also argued that Aguilera-Mederos did not do everything in his power to avoid collision, noting that at one point, he drove past a runaway truck ramp.
Aguilera-Mederos’s defense argued that the brakes were already bad and that he should not be blamed for using faulty equipment. “Mr. Mederos had no idea that what he was dragging behind him from Houston was an inoperable trailer,” defense attorney James Colgan said in court, according to KUSA. “He had no idea that when he needed those trailer brakes, they weren’t going to exist.”
My estimation for Rittenhouse is dead by age of 30.
Aguilera-Mederos' mistake was not taking the runaway truck ramp which then resulted in his causing the accident.Prosecutors argued at trial that Aguilera-Mederos knew his brakes were failing but drove past at least one runaway truck ramp as he descended the mountains along Interstate 70 west of Denver.
He then recklessly weaved in and out of traffic before his trailer, which was hauling lumber, crashed into stopped traffic and burst into flames, triggering a 28-vehicle pile-up that killed four people and injured six, prosecutors said.
Rueters
The brakes failed because of driver error not because of mechanical failure. They got extremely hotNumber6 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 26, 2021 2:50 pm It took me awhile to find something about this case that I read a couple of days ago. When Aguilera-Mederos' brakes failed, he drove past at least one runaway truck ramp (see photo below). A runaway truck ramp is an emergency escape lane filled with sand or gravel that slows the truck to a stop. Aguilera-Mederos tried to pull his truck to the right-side of the road but there was a truck there preventing him from doing so.
Aguilera-Mederos' mistake was not taking the runaway truck ramp which then resulted in his causing the accident.
I agree his sentence is excessive and I wonder if the trucking company he worked for is being prosecuted for failing to ensure the truck's brakes were working properly.
Every story I've seen says he is a Cuban immigrant and he came here - "to make a better life for him and his family". Now, BTW, it wasn't possible to "illegally" immigrate from Cuba to this country until 2011 (IIRC) so I guess I'd need more details on when he immigrated here, and how. Did he flee on a boat like many refugees?
Just curious. You know this - how?Either way we know he couldn't read write or speak enough English to read the signs.
It's interesting you're describing Cuba that way. I definitely agree it's less free than our country.Lastly people who come here from third world countries do not know we have freedoms that they didn't have in their old country. As he was racing out of control down that mountain he probably was worrying about the consequences to his family if he took the escape ramp.
In general, though, the U.S. government is rarely deporting Cubans back to Cuba except those intercepted at sea, so I really doubt he was worrying about that.
The brake failure probably was caused by overheating but what do the company's records indicate when the brakes were last inspected?Glennfs wrote: ↑Mon Dec 27, 2021 12:02 pm Aside from the fact that the sentence is way to long and needs to be reduced there are things the press hasn't been telling us or stressing.
First the brake failure was not caused by a mechanical failure it was caused by driver error. That hill he was coming down might be the steepest in the country. Improper braking causes your brakes to get hot. The hotter your brakes get the less effective they become. Until thrt get to the point where they don't work at all.
In his trial, he said he struggled to get his semi in gear before he lost his brakes so it would appear his truck wasn't an automatic.Next I would bet his truck was an automatic. I refuse to drive an automatic because when I come down a mountain I want to be the person who selects the proper gear. Not some engineer sitting behind their slide rule.
I think this is your racism showing. There's no evidence from the OP link or any other article I've seen to support your claim "...he couldn't read write or speak enough English to read the signs." If you have information confirming "...he couldn't read or write or speak enough English to read the signs" then post the link.Next is training. This guys immigration status isn't known. Either way we know he couldn't read write or speak enough English to read the signs. Plus it needs to be looked into how he obtained his license. Was he tested at a state facility or was it at a third party facility. If it were the latter there pass rate is probably close to 100pct.
Again, speculative on your part. I have no doubt the prosecution looked into his training and had there been anything improper they would have presented it at his trial.Next is there is no doubt he hadn't been properly trained. So his company needs investigated to see if they were aware of his lack of training. Spoiler alert they were. By hiring people who aren't properly trained you can pay them less. By hiring immigrants legal or otherwise you can pay them less.
Can you get any more racist? Learning to become a truck driver isn't as difficult as learning to be a pilot, a nurse, or a computer programmer. Most people who can drive a car can learn to drive a semi; it's a teachable skill. It has nothing to do with them coming from a third world country or about our "freedoms" but about their ability.Lastly people who come here from third world countries do not know we have freedoms that they didn't have in their old country. As he was racing out of control down that mountain he probably was worrying about the consequences to his family if he took the escape ramp.
I agree every truck driver needs to be properly trained and they should have to periodically undergo retesting at least every five years. With the American birthrate declining, our country is going to have to rely on more immigrants to fill job openings American born people can't fill. I have no problems with immigrants becoming truck drivers provided they can read, write, and understand English, are properly trained/tested, and licensed.Bottom line is we need to make sure all new drivers are properly trained and close companies that take advantage of people new to our country.
You yourself are marginally literate. You can barely express yourself in English, and your writing and grammar is atrocious.
And you're certain of this because...Lastly people who come here from third world countries do not know we have freedoms that they didn't have in their old country.
Republican HR theory in action.By hiring immigrants legal or otherwise you can pay them less.
I really hope if you're ever in the same situation, you don't get 110 years, do you think that would be warranted?I have no problems with immigrants becoming truck drivers ...
Glennfs is a white supremacist.marindem01 wrote: ↑Mon Dec 27, 2021 2:07 pm Only Glenn could boil down this tragedy to being about Undocumented, Illiterate Aliens. Never mind the fact that Glenn's history and poor grammar of legend. As Carmen put it, Glenn does not have an Hispanic last name and is white. Makes all the difference in the world.
What does his immigration status have to do with price of tea in London?
OK... so I note these things:
Okay, a few things. I figured that Glenn could give us some expert opinion here, and to some degree, he did.Glennfs wrote: ↑Mon Dec 27, 2021 12:02 pm Aside from the fact that the sentence is way to long and needs to be reduced there are things the press hasn't been telling us or stressing.
First the brake failure was not caused by a mechanical failure it was caused by driver error. That hill he was coming down might be the steepest in the country. Improper braking causes your brakes to get hot. The hotter your brakes get the less effective they become. Until thrt get to the point where they don't work at all.
Next I would bet his truck was an automatic. I refuse to drive an automatic because when I come down a mountain I want to be the person who selects the proper gear. Not some engineer sitting behind their slide rule.
Next is training. This guys immigration status isn't known. Either way we know he couldn't read write or speak enough English to read the signs. Plus it needs to be looked into how he obtained his license. Was he tested at a state facility or was it at a third party facility. If it were the latter there pass rate is probably close to 100pct.
Next is there is no doubt he hadn't been properly trained. So his company needs investigated to see if they were aware of his lack of training. Spoiler alert they were. By hiring people who aren't properly trained you can pay them less. By hiring immigrants legal or otherwise you can pay them less.
Lastly people who come here from third world countries do not know we have freedoms that they didn't have in their old country. As he was racing out of control down that mountain he probably was worrying about the consequences to his family if he took the escape ramp.
Bottom line is we need to make sure all new drivers are properly trained and close companies that take advantage of people new to our country.
Actually, up until Obama ended the 1965 Cuban Adjustment Act (which Clinton only modified in 1995), it basically was impossible to "illegally" immigrate from Cuba as everyone making it to U.S. soil, whether by boat, raft, or inner tube, got automatic asylum.
