Resentencing hearing set for driver in fatal I-70 crash

A date to reconsider the sentence given to Rogel Aguilera-Mederos has been set for Jan. 13. Truck driver Aguilera-Mederos was convicted for causing a deadly interstate wreck.

The First Judicial District Attorney’s Office requested the hearing to reduce the sentence after public outcry over Aguilera-Mederos being sentenced on Dec. 13 to 110 consecutive years in prison. Nearly 5 million people have signed an electronic petition at Change.org seeking clemency for Aguilera-Mederos.

OOIDA Executive Vice President Lewie Pugh has said that Aguilera-Mederos is a victim of a broken system.

The Jan. 13 hearing is scheduled to take place in person. Aguilera-Mederos is expected to appear at the hearing but not testify. Victims’ family members may testify or submit testimony, according to First Judicial District Attorney Alexis King, as quoted in a CNN report. It is unusual for prosecution to initiate a request for a lower sentence instead of the defense, CNN reported.

Aguilera-Mederos is convicted of driving his tractor-trailer into stopped traffic on I-70 in the Denver area on April 25, 2019. He said his truck was traveling at 85 mph when his brakes failed. The truck crashed into the 28-car traffic backup caused by a previous collision. Four men were killed and at least six others injured.

Aguilera-Mederos, 26, was found guilty in October of four counts of vehicular homicide and 23 other charges in connection to the incident. The sentence was the mandatory minimum term set forth under state law. The judge presiding over the hearing said he would have handed down a different sentence if he had been allowed to do that.

Aguilera-Mederos’ employer

Aguilera-Mederos is a U.S. resident from Cuba who had a commercial driver’s license from Texas. He was driving for Castellano 03 Trucking LLC, Houston. When the April 2019 collision happened, he was pulling a flatbed trailer of lumber.

According to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration records, Castellano 03 Trucking had a lengthy history of safety violations, including maintenance violations related to brakes. Also, the company had been cited for having a driver who could not read or speak English sufficiently.

Its motor carrier authority was revoked on May 6, 2019, according to the FMCSA licensing and insurance information. LL