A petition to grant clemency to the driver of an 18-wheeler sentenced to 110 years in prison for causing a huge crash that killed four on ...
A petition to grant clemency to the driver of an 18-wheeler sentenced to 110 years in prison for causing a huge crash that killed four on a Colorado interstate has garnered 1.65 million signatures on Change.org.
Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, 26, was driving a semi on April 25, 2019 down Interstate 70 in Lakewood, Colorado, when he crashed into two dozen vehicles - including four other semi-trucks stuck in rush-hour traffic. The impact caused a 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, the Denver Channel reported.
'Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos, 23, has nothing on his driving record, or on his criminal history,' the Change.org petition for Aguilera-Mederos' clemency, which was addressed to Colorado Governor Jared Polis and Jefferson County courts, reads.
The governor is the only person who can grant clemency at the state level. Polis most recently commuted four sentences and issued 18 pardons in December 2020. Clemency usually results in a sentence reduction or a pardon.
'He had complied with every single request by the Jefferson County courts, and investigators on the case.'
Pictured: a screenshot of the 1.65 million signature Change.org petition for clemency for Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, 26, the driver of an 18-wheeler jailed for 110 years for killing four people
Pictured: a screenshot of the petition for Aguilera-Mederos, who was sentenced to prison for 110 consecutive on Monday for causing a fireball crash that killed four people
Aguilera-Mederos, pictured, of Texas, as he was sentenced Monday to 110 consecutive years in prison, who said his hands were tied due to mandatory minimum laws in the state
'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 drivers part. No one but the trucking company he is/was employed by should be held accountable for this accident.'
'We are trying to hold the person who needs to be held responsible, responsible. The trucking company has had several inspections since 2017, with several mechanical violations.'
The petition goes on to say that Rogel could have 'done things differently to avoid the courts,' but ultimately commended him for taking responsibility and apologizing to the victim's families.
'Some of the families even offered forgiveness,' the petition continues.
'Rogel is not a criminal.'
It will become one of the website's top signed petitions after it reaches 3 million signatures, according to the Change.org page.
One of website's petitions successfully forced AT&T, Ernst & Young, Intel, and UPS to cease donating to the Boy Scouts after the organization came under heavy scrutiny for its controversial exclusionary policy against gay scouts and leaders this year.
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
And 14-year-old Julia Bluhm successfully petitioned Seventeen magazine on Change.org to stop doctoring photos of its teen models. The magazine announced it would no longer Photoshop its models in July, making it the first mainstream teen magazine to take the 'no Photoshop' pledge, Business News Daily reported.
Aguilera-Mederos, of Texas, was working for a Houston-based trucking company at the time of the fatal crash. He was driving an 18-wheeler loaded with lumber.
Prosecutors said he was eastbound coming down the interstate from the mountains at about 85mph. They said 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 crash, noting that some bodies were still in the wreckage hours later. Video showed 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 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, pictured, 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 wreck. He made a 'bunch of bad decisions' instead, they said.
Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, 26, was sentenced on Monday to 110 consecutive years in prison
But 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, 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 harm's 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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