Man accused of deadly 2019 I-70 crash found guilty
JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- Friday, a jury found Rogel Aguilera-Mederos guilty of vehicular homicide in the 2019 crash along I-70 that killed four people and injured several others.
According to 9News, Aguilera-Mederos was found guilty on four counts of vehicular homicide, and 23 other counts which included assault in the first degree, vehicular assault, reckless driving, and careless driving. He was found guilty on a total of 27 counts.
He was not found guilty on 15 other counts of attempt to commit assault in the first degree. Aguilera-Mederos faced 42 counts.
The jury entered deliberations at 2 p.m. At 4:52 p.m. the jury reached a verdict.
According to the Lakewood Police Department, Aguilera-Mederos was driving a tractor-trailer rig carrying lumber on Interstate 70 on April 25, 20019, when he lost control and crashed into a traffic backup at speeds estimated as high as 100 mph.
The crash triggered a fire. In total, 28 vehicles were involved.
Four men died in the crash:
- Doyle Harrison, 61, of Hudson
- William Bailey, 67, of Arvada
- Miguel Angel Lamas Arellano, 24, of Denver
- Stanley Politano, 69, of Arvada
Ten other people were hurt in the wreck, and two of them had serious injuries.
Aguilera-Mederos claims his breaks gave out while coming down the highway from the mountains. The prosecution argued he made a series of bad choices and had multiple chances to prevent the crash and did not take them.
Thursday, Aguilera-Mederos took the stand for the first time and recounted his version of the crash. According to 9News, he testified that he had very little experience driving in the mountains and that the crash happened during his first solo trip as a truck driver.
During the trial, multiple witnesses and survivors also took the stand recounting the fiery crash. According to 9News, one crash victim testified about how she crawled on the roofs of multiple vehicles to get to safety.
One witness described watching cars exploding and parts flying into the air, saying it was horrendous.
Read more on this case through our Denver affiliate, 9News, by clicking here.
