Petition to grant clemency to Colorado trucker jailed for 110 years for barreling down road and killing four in fireball after his brakes failed attracts 1.65 MILLION signatures
- A petition to grant clemency to the driver of an 18-wheeler jailed for 110 years in prison for killing four people has garnered 1.65 million signatures on Change.org
- Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, 26, was sentenced on Monday to 110 consecutive years in prison for a fiery crash in 2019 that killed four people
- He was driving a semi-truck at 85mph down I-70 in Lakewood, Colorado on April 25, 2019 when he crashed into two dozen vehicles stuck in rush hour traffic
- The impact of the crash caused a fireball explosion that incinerated cars and trucks and killed four people and injured six others
- Aguilera-Mederos claimed his brakes failed, but prosecutors said he should have used a runaway truck ramp miles before the scene of the crash
- He was found guilty in October of 27 criminal charges
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.’
