“What I will say is that if I had discretion, this would not be my sentence,” said a district judge in the state of Colorado when sentencing a young Cuban to 110 years in prison.
In 2019, four people lost their lives and several more were injured when Rogel Lázaro Aguilera-Mederos, of 24 years old at that moment, the lumber truck he was driving crashed into several cars stopped on the interstate 70, west of Denver.
According to Lakewood Police Department investigators, Aguilera-Mederos was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the accident. He also had no criminal record.
The young man alleged that his brakes failed and did not use the emergency ramp that he could have avoided the tragedy.
As Judge Bruce Jones explained at the time of sentencing, the young truck driver had made “terrible and reckless decisions” despite “not having the intention of doing harm ”.
But since state law requires that the penalty for some of the charges Aguilera-Mederos faced, including assault and attempted assault, be a minimum of 10 years and further establishes If the sentences are served consecutively instead of simultaneously, the young Cuban will have to spend the rest of his life in prison if the sentence is upheld.
The case has generated an intense debate in The US, with an online application signed by more than 1.6 million people, asking Colorado Governor Jared Polis to grant “clemency” to the young man. n Cuban and reduce the time he will have to remain in prison.
The incident
The 25 April 2019, Rogel Aguilera-Mederos lost control of the cargo truck driving down the interstate 70, near a mall west of Denver.
As confirmed by the investigators in the case, the truck’s brakes began to overheat on a steep descent and Aguilera-Mederos continued its journey despite seeing smoke coming from them.
When the truck’s brakes failed completely, Aguilera-Mederos did not use the emergency ramp that could have stopped the vehicle, and incidentally avoid the tragedy, but that crashed the truck into several vehicles that were stopped on the interstate due to a previous accident in the area.
The impact was so severe that it killed by Miguel Ángel Lamas Arellano, from 24 years; William Baily, from 67; Doyle Harrison, from 61 and Stanley Politano, from 69.
In addition, it generated a fire so large that local media reported that the asphalt of the interstate had melted in the place.
According to Aguilera-Mederos’ sworn statement, the young man “thought he was going to die so he closed his eyes before colliding with parked traffic.”
“Extreme indifference”
Prosecutors in the case argued that Aguilera-Mederos had had several opportunities to avoid the tragedy and that it was his bad decisions that had caused the sinister.
This is why the jury found the young man guilty on six counts of first degree assault with “extreme indifference”; ten counts of attempted first degree assault with “extreme indifference”; two counts of vehicular assault; a reckless driving charge; and four counts of reckless driving causing death.
Speaking to local newspaper The Denver Post, Duane Bailey, the brother of one of the victims said: “He made the deliberate and intentional decision that his life was more important than everyone else who was on the road that day.”
Gage Evans, The widow of another victim, told a local television station that Aguilera-Mederos deserved a prison sentence and that she was “relieved” with the jury’s verdict.
“I am not a criminal”
During the trial, the young truck driver cried and apologized to the victims’ families.
“I’m not a criminal,” he said. “I am not a murderer. When I see the charges against me, we are talking about a murderer and that is not me. I have never thought about hurting someone in my life. ”
He added that his life after the incident has been“ difficult ”and that he continually thinks about the people who died.
“I lost my brakes. Truckers know this is a difficult time, there is nothing you can do. You can’t do anything, ”Aguilera-Mederos said during the sentence.
Review the sentence
The Denver Post dedicated him your editorial of December to the case of the young Cuban, and asked the governor of Colorado Jared Polis to review the possibility of granting clemency and thus reduce his sentence.
“A tool that Aguilera-Mederos used to his work failed The U.S. justice system has always had a difficult time handling wrongful death cases. If the objective is to dissuade others and promote rehabilitation, how many years in prison will be enough? “Asked the editorial board of the newspaper.
Furthermore, they added that the governor and the board of review should look at the case again to avoid “unfair” sentences such as Aguilera-Mederos in the future.
Others Instead, they believe that the blame should lie with the company that owns the truck.
In a petition signed online by more than 1.6 million people through Change.org, Heather Gilbee, a Colorado resident, said the company had failed several inspections of security, from 2017.
“No one but the employing company should be responsible for this accident,” Gilbee said.
This case has caused a great impact among the Cuban community in the United States, with numerous personalities who have requested clemency for the young truck driver.
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