Governor grants clemency to truck driver in fatal I-70 crash, reduces sentence to 10 years
DENVER (KRDO) -- Instead of serving a 110-year prison sentence for causing a fatal chain of crashes on Interstate 70, Rogel Aguilera-Mederos is getting clemency from Gov. Jared Polis and will be sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Our partners at 9News were the first to confirm the new information Thursday.
Aguilera-Mederos was convicted by a jury of multiple counts of assault and vehicular homicide for the April 2019 crash that left four people dead and six others injured. Due to mandatory sentencing laws, he was sentenced to 110 years in prison earlier this month.
The sentence received prompt backlash online, with millions of people signing a petition asking Gov. Polis to grant clemency. Supporters said the sentence was too harsh in light of the circumstances.
Aguilera-Mederos testified that his brakes failed on I-70 and he lost control of his semi-trailer when he collided into a traffic jam of cars in Lakewood. Prosecutors said he had multiple chances to use runaway truck ramps but didn't divert his path.
District Attorney Alexis King requested a hearing for the judge in the case to reconsider a sentence, asking for a reduction to 20-30 years; the hearing was set for Jan. 13. With the clemency announcement, it's not clear if that hearing will proceed.
