Colorado prosecutor showed off brake-shoe gift after helping convict 26-year-old trucker sentenced to 110 years for deadly crash

[Gun Nut]

Regarding his lawyer... no. He did not have a good lawyer. His first lawyer, back in 2019 when this happened (very close to where I live, BTW), he had a lawyer that was well known as a Marijuana Legalization and rights activist, got into legal trouble himself and dropped out of the case in 2020. His next lawyer subsequently dropped out of the case after being injured in a car accident. He is on his third one now, with all of these changes causing major delays in his trial.

 

[Gun Nut]

At his age, he could not have been a very experienced rig driver. And who knows how one will behave in an emergency.

No matter how inexperienced, he acted completely recklessly. Even the people behind him on the road knew he should have taken that off-ramp. So what's his excuse?

He may not have seen the runoff in time or may not have thought he could effect the maneuver. Or he may have simply panicked.

There was a big-ass sign saying "runaway truck ramp 2000 ft". He had plenty of time to react. Also, there is no indication that the maneuver to gently veer right onto the ramp could not be effected. Have you even watched the video? Instead of going right, he swerves left across lanes, almost collecting a white pickup truck in the process.

Maybe you’ve never made a driving error. I have and I’m grateful no one was hurt.

I am not a professional driver, but no. Nothing like this. And I always downshift on long grades.

His swerve to the left shows that he knows he's in trouble--that's the sort of move you pull when you know you're in danger of losing it in the turn.

So, I am very familiar with this road.. I drive it often. I live within 20 miles of the accident.
There are a LOT of signs for truckers about cooling brakes, snow chain requirements, runaway truck ramps, technical information on the slope of the road.... This is not a regular part of interstate highway... this is the way you drive when coming out of the 14,000' Rocky Mountains onto the 5,000' high plains of Denver. It is called the Front Range, and for about 30 miles from Colorado Springs all the way to Denver, you never touch the gas pedal in your car. You could turn your car off and coast all the way home, theoretically.
If you are "driving" a runaway truck on this section of i70, it is impossible to miss a piece of safety information or ramp... impossible without an element of gross negligence.
There is even one sign that makes me chuckle every time I pass it.. He passed this very same sign..

CDOT Created Those Infamous ‘Truckers Don’t Be Fooled’ Signs After This Historic I-70 Crash

Similar to last week's deadly pileup, in August 1989 a semitrailer driver lost control on the steeply graded section of I-70 heading into Denver.

www.cpr.org

 

[Gun Nut]

Here is a picture of the runaway truck ramp that he didn't take. Notice that all you have to do is continue straight off the road and up the ramp. It took an intentional effort to avoid the ramp and stay on the road (which turns significantly left). There were 4 instances where intentional decisions led to the crash (not an "accident"), according to prosecution in this case. This was one of them..

 

[Loren Pechtel]

So, I am very familiar with this road.. I drive it often. I live within 20 miles of the accident.
There are a LOT of signs for truckers about cooling brakes, snow chain requirements, runaway truck ramps, technical information on the slope of the road.... This is not a regular part of interstate highway... this is the way you drive when coming out of the 14,000' Rocky Mountains onto the 5,000' high plains of Denver. It is called the Front Range, and for about 30 miles from Colorado Springs all the way to Denver, you never touch the gas pedal in your car. You could turn your car off and coast all the way home, theoretically.
If you are "driving" a runaway truck on this section of i70, it is impossible to miss a piece of safety information or ramp... impossible without an element of gross negligence.
There is even one sign that makes me chuckle every time I pass it.. He passed this very same sign..

View attachment 36510

CDOT Created Those Infamous ‘Truckers Don’t Be Fooled’ Signs After This Historic I-70 Crash

Similar to last week's deadly pileup, in August 1989 a semitrailer driver lost control on the steeply graded section of I-70 heading into Denver.

www.cpr.org

I've only done that road once but there's absolutely no doubt you're on a serious hill and they're serious about providing for runaway trucks.

The road doesn't go to anything like 14,000', though.

 

[Swammerdami]

TL;DR:
Just as Kyle Rittenhouse should never have had a gun, that guy should never have been allowed to drive a truck. It's mind-boggling that some people who treat Rittenhouse as a hero want the trucker to rot in prison for 110 years.

Mandatory minimum prison terms are part of the absurdity. Do other countries have such? Or is this just another example of the American right-wing obsession that authority figures are all stupid and corrupt; and important decisions should be turned over to the most moronic 51%?

Was this young truck driver inadequately trained? Are accusations made against the company that hired him? I see that use of a runaway exit leads to a cost to the truck company of several thousands of dollars; is it possible that in his brief training course he was told not to use them?

Is the alleged shortage of truck drivers part of the problem? This accident should make clear that truck driving is a difficult and critical job; hiring should not be done as casually as the hiring of McDonald's order-fillers, janitors, or armed metropolitan police officers. (And are smart young people turning away from truck driving as a career by Elon Musk's promise to replace them with computers?)

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

People who have criminal intent to cause misery and death have been handed more lenient sentences. There should be a limit to what a person can serve for negligent but unintended harm. What in the world does our society gain by this person serving decades in jail? A few moments of gratuitous 'he'll pay' celebration?

 

[TomC]

People who have criminal intent to cause misery and death have been handed more lenient sentences. There should be a limit to what a person can serve for negligent but unintended harm. What in the world does our society gain by this person serving decades in jail? A few moments of gratuitous 'he'll pay' celebration?

Here's another thing that makes this particular incident so morally messy.

Apparently, the driver was offered a plea deal. I have no idea what the offer was, but he turned it down. That was yet another disastrous decision he made.

Without commenting on mandatory sentencing as a concept, by the time the jury reached a verdict the judge was bound to follow state laws. Unlike the driver, who made multiple disastrous decisions along the way, I doubt the judge had much leeway if any.
Tom

 

[thebeave]

Here is a picture of the runaway truck ramp that he didn't take. Notice that all you have to do is continue straight off the road and up the ramp. It took an intentional effort to avoid the ramp and stay on the road (which turns significantly left). There were 4 instances where intentional decisions led to the crash (not an "accident"), according to prosecution in this case. This was one of them..

View attachment 36511

Geez, if I was a truck driver trying to manage a speeding truck with brake failure and saw that runaway truck ramp dead ahead, I would look at it like a gift from the gods. I'd probably shit my pants I would be so relieved! I might even turn from atheist to a believer in that moment. OK, that's probably going too far.

There are a couple of runaway truck ramps that I pass by on my way back from Tahoe on I-80. Those are a bit sketchy looking IMHO. Somewhat narrow gravel roads that curve off from the main highway. If I was a truck driver with an out of control truck there, I would be terrified that I could veer off the runaway ramp or spin out on the gravel. Still it would be less terrifying than continuing down the highway gaining even more speed.

I had a pretty frightening situation once returning back from Yosemite on highway 120. There is a shortcut called Old Priest Grade Road that bypasses a more gently sloped, but far longer route up a steep grade. I once(!) went down it in my truck and before I got to the bottom, my brakes were going all the way to floorboard and I could smell the overheated brake fluid. Scared the living shit out of me. I flew past the stop sign at the bottom and merged onto the main highway. It was just a matter of luck that there was a break in traffic at that time. My tipoff about the danger should have been all the flowery memorial wreaths and crosses placed alongside the road.

 

[ZiprHead]

Sentenced Trucker's Ex-Boss Tied to Business With 'Defective Brakes'

The newer business has been linked to at least 23 violations, including "inoperative/defective brakes" and "brake connections with leaks or constrictions."

www.newsweek.com

Online federal transportation records show that the owner of Castellano 03 Trucking, LLC, is now tied to a new business, Volt Trucking LLC, which has a history of violations involving brakes and brake connections, 9NEWS reported.

Records show violations for "Brake connections with Constrictions Under Vehicle," "Brake Connections with Leaks - Connection to Power Unit," "Clamp or Roto type brake out-of-adjustment," and "No or defective brake warning device or pressure gauge," among others.

 

[ZiprHead]

Resentencing Rogel Aguilera-Mederos: Judge Sets Reconsideration Hearing For Jan. 13

On Monday, the judge agreed to schedule a reconsideration hearing for Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, the truck driver who crashed a semi-truck into stopped traffic on Interstate 70 in 2019, killing four people.

denver.cbslocal.com

(CBS4) — On Monday, the judge agreed to schedule a resentencing hearing for Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, the truck driver who crashed a semi-truck into stopped traffic on Interstate 70 in 2019, killing four people and injuring several more. He was sentenced to 110 years in prison, under minimum sentencing laws, after being convicted of 27 charges, including vehicular homicide.

On Monday, Alexis King, the Jefferson county district attorney, asked the judge to lower Aguilera-Mederos’ sentence down to 20 to 30 years.

Judge A. Bruce Jones agreed to schedule the resentencing hearing for 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 13.

The judge questioned how much discretion he has in the resentencing, which he called “troubling.”

During the original sentencing hearing earlier this month, the judge made it clear he did not agree with the sentence, but was bound to it under the law.

“If I had the discretion, it would not be my sentence,” he said.

 

[TomC]

People who have criminal intent to cause misery and death have been handed more lenient sentences.

Might this be the reason for mandatory minimum sentences? Probably.

So, in an indirect but very real way, the truck driver is the victim of previous judges. Judges who didn't sentence more serious offenders as harshly as the broader community thought reasonable.

I dunno.
Looks like...

Tom

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

People who have criminal intent to cause misery and death have been handed more lenient sentences.

Might this be the reason for mandatory minimum sentences? Probably.

So, in an indirect but very real way, the truck driver is the victim of previous judges. Judges who didn't sentence more serious offenders as harshly as the broader community thought reasonable.

I dunno.
Looks like...

Tom

This is what happens when justice is politicized. Politicians want to look "tough" on crime, but justice is crazy sometimes. Cases aren't Law and Order clear. But then the politicians create new rules so the people who commit crimes get the "time they deserve" because that is what the people want!

And then in some cases the wrong people get sentenced to these limits, there is outrage (like what opened up the BLM occupation), or in rare cases like this where the numbers are clearly outrageous even for the less represented minorities.

Justice should be justice. Politicians shouldn't be setting limits to get elected or re-elected.

 

[TomC]

This is what happens when justice is politicized.

There's no way to avoid politicized state justice.

Cops and perps. Victims, their families, and bystanders. Judges and politicians. Laws, tacit assumptions, raw emotions.

Bunch a damn humans.

You gotta love 'em, or you'd mow 'em down with a machine gun.

Tom

 

[TV and credit cards]

Geez, if I was a truck driver trying to manage a speeding truck with brake failure and saw that runaway truck ramp dead ahead, I would look at it like a gift from the gods. I'd probably shit my pants I would be so relieved! I might even turn from atheist to a believer in that moment. OK, that's probably going too far.

There are a couple of runaway truck ramps that I pass by on my way back from Tahoe on I-80. Those are a bit sketchy looking IMHO. Somewhat narrow gravel roads that curve off from the main highway. If I was a truck driver with an out of control truck there, I would be terrified that I could veer off the runaway ramp or spin out on the gravel. Still it would be less terrifying than continuing down the highway gaining even more speed.

I had a pretty frightening situation once returning back from Yosemite on highway 120. There is a shortcut called Old Priest Grade Road that bypasses a more gently sloped, but far longer route up a steep grade. I once(!) went down it in my truck and before I got to the bottom, my brakes were going all the way to floorboard and I could smell the overheated brake fluid. Scared the living shit out of me. I flew past the stop sign at the bottom and merged onto the main highway. It was just a matter of luck that there was a break in traffic at that time. My tipoff about the danger should have been all the flowery memorial wreaths and crosses placed alongside the road.

Working at Yosemite in the winter, I always came down out of the valley in second gear, about 20 mph. The road was icy and if you so much as touched your brakes, you would slide straight no matter how badly you needed to turn.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

People who have criminal intent to cause misery and death have been handed more lenient sentences. There should be a limit to what a person can serve for negligent but unintended harm. What in the world does our society gain by this person serving decades in jail? A few moments of gratuitous 'he'll pay' celebration?

Here's another thing that makes this particular incident so morally messy.

Apparently, the driver was offered a plea deal. I have no idea what the offer was, but he turned it down. That was yet another disastrous decision he made.

Without commenting on mandatory sentencing as a concept, by the time the jury reached a verdict the judge was bound to follow state laws. Unlike the driver, who made multiple disastrous decisions along the way, I doubt the judge had much leeway if any.
Tom

This. The huge sentence was due to mandatory sentencing rules. The idiot wouldn't take a reasonable plea and inevitably lost badly at trial.

The problem isn't with his sentence, it's with the rules that caused it. Blame the tough-on-crime politicians.

 

[Derec]

So, in an indirect but very real way, the truck driver is the victim of previous judges. Judges who didn't sentence more serious offenders as harshly as the broader community thought reasonable.

That is a good point. These things are cyclic. The pendulum swings one way, there is a correction that ends up overcorrecting the other way. Rinse, repeat. Despite this sentence, we are currently in the "overcorrection in the soft on crime direction" phase of the cycle exemplified by things like overuse of no bail release of suspects and so-called "progressive" DAs coming to power in many cities and counties.

Idiot Jared Polis might believe that male students should be expelled if it is only 20% probable that he sexually assaulted anybody, but I do think he takes a far less grim view of vehicular homicide by professional drivers. He just might commute this mother trucker's sentence to time served.

 

[Derec]

My tipoff about the danger should have been all the flowery memorial wreaths and crosses placed alongside the road.

Or maybe all these signs could have been a tipoff:


On a more positive note, that road looks like it would make for fun hill climb racing ...

 

[Derec]

TL;DR:
Just as Kyle Rittenhouse should never have had a gun, that guy should never have been allowed to drive a truck. It's mind-boggling that some people who treat Rittenhouse as a hero want the trucker to rot in prison for 110 years.

That guy really is living in your head rent-free, isn't he?

 

[thebeave]

My tipoff about the danger should have been all the flowery memorial wreaths and crosses placed alongside the road.

Or maybe all these signs could have been a tipoff:
View attachment 36523

On a more positive note, that road looks like it would make for fun hill climb racing ...

Heh...yeah. That too. I had gone up it several times prior to my first time downhill run. It was a huge time saver going up and relatively free of problems, though I avoided going up on really hot days due to the overheating engine risk. I knew about the downhill risk, but saw many others going that way seemingly with out problems, so figured it was worth a try. I thought the roadside memorials must have been Darwin Award winners.

I think the problem was I had a manual tranny transmission, and failed to put it in a lower gear right away, so I gained too much speed to be able to downshift without redlining my engine. Live and learn, I guess.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

TL;DR:
Just as Kyle Rittenhouse should never have had a gun, that guy should never have been allowed to drive a truck. It's mind-boggling that some people who treat Rittenhouse as a hero want the trucker to rot in prison for 110 years.

That guy really is living in your head rent-free, isn't he?