Colorado Governor Jared Polis commuted the sentence of a truck driver who was sentenced to 110 years in prison for a fatal accident in Colorado in 2019. “Rogel Aguilera-Mederos’s sentence is reduced to 10 years,” according to a statement from press of the Government.
Aguilera-Mederos was driving a semi-trailer in April 2019 at 136 km / h when the brakes failed, he told investigators at the time. He tried to pull over to the shoulder to avoid stopped traffic, but another semi-trailer had already stopped there, according to an arrest affidavit.
The crash resulted in a 28-car crash that left four dead, the Lakewood Police Department said at the time.
Aguilera-Mederos was found guilty in October and convicted of vehicular manslaughter and 23 other charges, according to the Colorado First Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
James Colgan, one of Aguilera-Mederos’ attorneys, told GLM he was surprised that the governor made the decision before a hearing scheduled for next month.
But he said it was good news and hopes Aguilera-Mederos will accept the clemency offer.
“Obviously, I think that was the maximum sentence that Mr. Mederos should have received, 10 years. And Mr. Mederos is, of course, extraordinarily grateful for the governor’s decision. I think it is a much fairer reflection of what happened than the 110 years it received. ”
Colgan said he expects Aguilera-Mederos to be eligible for parole in five years with this new sentence. As for the hearing scheduled for January 13, Colgan said he sees no reason to go ahead with the court appearance, but nothing has been decided yet.
“I anticipate that Mr. Mederos would accept that clemency offer,” Colgan said. “I can’t imagine that he wouldn’t.”
The governor also revealed that he recently learned that a relative of Mr. Rogel Aguilera-Mederos’s attorney works in the governor’s office, according to the statement. “This person had absolutely no involvement in the commutation process and works in an unrelated capacity, and was not aware of the governor’s decision beforehand.”