Widow pushing for trucking industry changes kept ICE informed about release of driver responsible for her husband’s death
Deanna Miller is pushing for change and keeping federal agents up to date on the status of the man who is responsible for her husband's death.
By Karen Morfitt
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Colorado (KCNC) — A Colorado woman whose life was turned upside down last year when her husband died in a crash is pushing for change and keeping federal agents up to date on the status of the man who is responsible for her husband’s death.
Ignacio Cruz-Mendoza was sentenced to 364 days in jail for deadly crash he caused along Highway 285 last June. Over the weekend, after 293 days of his sentence, he was released from the Jefferson County Jail. He is now in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Deann Miller says she got a life sentence the day her husband Scott died in that crash.
“I’m without my best friend, my soulmate. My daughter is without her father, my grandkids don’t have a grandpa, and his friends are lost without him,” Deann Miller said. “It’s all senseless.”
Scott Miller was killed when the steal piping on the semi truck Cruz-Mendoza was driving came loose after he lost control of his truck.
Initially, Cruz-Mendoza was charged with a misdemeanor traffic offense and pleaded guilty before prosecutors could file additional charges. An investigation revealed Cruz-Mendoza was undocumented, had been removed from the country more than a dozen times, and did not have a valid commercial driver’s license.
Miller says that, not wanting him behind the wheel of another truck, she notified immigration.
“The person that we had contacted said that they would make sure that Ignacio was picked up. And then on Friday I contacted them again to make sure, because he has no remorse for killing my husband,” Deann Miller said.
She’s now an advocate for change in the trucking industry and pushing for the Secure and Safe Roads Act in Arkansas and a similar bill in Wyoming. She’s also looking for reform in Colorado that would include banning foreign CDLs and reinstating what was once federal law requiring English proficiency for truck drivers.
“We assume they have had the same training and testing as is required of American truck drivers, however in fact what we are doing is creating an unsafe driving environment,” she said.
Motor carrier safety experts in Colorado are aware of the discussions around reform but point to needed accountability for companies hiring unqualified drivers first. Cruz-Mendoza, worked for Monique Trucking company, who, despite having years of citations, was only declared an imminent hazard to public safety after the crash along Highway 285.
“It just was wrong what happened, and I don’t want anyone else to have to lose somebody like I lost my love,” Deann Miller said. “He was my whole world and he is gone now.”
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