Trucker Rogel Aguilera-Mederos Gets 110 Years for Deadly I-70 Crash

In October, a Jefferson County jury found Houston truck driver Rogel Aguilera-Mederos guilty of 27 out of 41 charges stemming from an April 2019 crash on Interstate 70 near Colorado Mills Parkway, including four counts of vehicular homicide — one for each of the people who died. At a hearing yesterday, December 13, these offenses translated to what the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office characterizes as a "mandatory 110 years in the Department of Corrections."

This is a major hit; a typical penalty in Colorado for careless driving with serious bodily injury or death tops out at one year in jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000. Likewise, vehicular homicide usually earns the guilty party two to six years behind bars. But a judge can bump the punishment for a conviction on that charge up to 24 years if there are "extraordinary aggravating circumstances."

That was certainly the case on April 25, 2019, when the Colorado Department of Transportation issued its first tweet at 5:38 p.m.: "I-70 EB: Crash at Exit 281-Peoria Street. Rollover crash blocking all lanes."

At 5:54 p.m., CDOT updated the information: "I-70 EB/WB: Road closed at Exit 262-US 40; Colfax Ave. Closed both directions Colfax to Denver West, alternate routes include Colfax, 6th Avenue, or C-470. Long delays expected." At 9:01 p.m., the department added: "I-70 EB/WB: Road closed between Exit 261-US 6; 6th Ave and Exit 265-CO 58."

The Lakewood Police Department also provided Twitter updates throughout the evening. Early on, the LPD revealed that there had been at least one fatality. But at 9:40 p.m., the news got grimmer: "Highway will remain closed at least overnight. We can confirm that there are multiple fatalities and 6 others taken to local hospitals."

Another Lakewood Police Department note stated: "Denver West Parkway bridge over I-70 believed to have suffered heavy damage. Fire remains on scene as hotspots remain."

The victims were subsequently identified as 24-year-old Denver resident Miguel Angel Lamas Arellano; Doyle Harrison, a 61-year-old from Hudson; 67-year-old Arvada resident William Bailey; and Stanley Politano, a 69-year-old who was also from Arvada. Aguilera-Mederos was taken into custody, and on May 3, he was hit with what eventually grew to 41 criminal charges, including four counts of vehicular homicide-reckless and six of first-degree assault.

On May 1, his wife shared Aguilera-Mederos's reaction on social media: "God is with me. This is not just what they are doing to me." And a few weeks later, a video surfaced (it's now been deleted) in which he was quoted in translated Spanish as saying, "You can’t imagine what it’s like when one is at rock bottom, and you see the love of everyone and how they come together to help."

Before long, Aguilera-Mederos secured the services of attorney Rob Corry, who was best known as a marijuana advocate; on May 24, 2019, he told us that he felt that his client had been seriously overcharged. But Corry's personal problems — including an arrest history that eventually led to a year-long ban from practicing law — led to his dropping out of the case in early 2020. Attorney James Colgan subsequently took on the task of representing Aguilera-Mederos, but it wasn't a smooth road. On October 6 of this year, the start of the trial was delayed because Colgan was injured in a car crash.

Once the proceedings finally got under way, prosecutors portrayed Aguilera-Mederos as reckless, while the defense team cast him as the victim of numerous mechanical problems with his truck. When those culminated in brake failure, Aguilera-Mederos testified, he considered several options, including driving onto the grassy median that separates eastbound and westbound I-70. But he feared that he'd wind up in the path of oncoming traffic on the other side of the highway, and he thought smashing directly into the bridge "would cause an explosion," he explained. He also claimed to have missed seeing a couple of signs for a runaway truck ramp. So he tried to slow down by swerving, but that didn't prevent a deadly tragedy.

In addition to the four vehicular homicide charges, Aguilera-Mederos was also hit with six counts of assault in the first degree - extreme indifference, ten counts of attempt to commit assault in the first degree - extreme indifference, two counts of vehicular assault - reckless, one count of reckless driving, and four counts of careless driving causing death.

"Hopefully the judge’s sentence provides a sense of justice to the victims, our community and everyone who was impacted by this tragedy," the First Judicial DA's Office said in a statement after that century-plus sentence was handed down. "We greatly appreciate the service by the members of the jury and the extensive investigative efforts by the Lakewood Police Department and numerous other local and state agencies that assisted."