In April 2019, 26-year-old Rogel Aguilera-Mederos crashed his truck into traffic on Interstate 70 in Denver, Colorado, killing four individuals.
Aguilera-Mederos’ 18-wheeler forced other cars off the road as it swerved, and then slammed into more than 20 cars and four other semi-trailers.
Four Colorado men died in the crash: Doyle Harrison, William Bailey, Miguel Angel Lamas Arrellano, and Stanley Politano.
Aguilera-Mederos, who is a Cuban immigrant, has maintained that his brakes failed before the crash, but the jury in his trial apparently did not see it that way.
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As reported by The New York Post, Judge Bruce Jones on Monday sentenced Aguilera-Mederos to 110 consecutive years in prison.
Aguilera-Mederos was found guilty of multiple counts of reckless driving, careless driving and vehicular assault. He was also convicted on 42 counts, including first-degree assault and homicide.
Jones acknowledged that Aguilera-Mederos did not intend to harm anyone, saying "if I had the discretion, it would not be my sentence."
Still, he noted that the truck driver "made a series of terrible decisions, reckless decisions."
Rogel Aguilera-Mederos
Aguilera-Mederos was emotional as he addressed the judge, and repeatedly broke down crying, stressing that he never meant to kill anyone and apologizing profusely.
"I’m begging for forgiveness from everyone. It is hard to live with this," the truck driver said.
"A part of me will be missing forever as well. This was a terrible accident, I know. I take the responsibility, but it wasn’t intentional," he continued.
Relatives of the men he killed were also present and they were all sobbing as well, according to The New York Post.
'I Am Not A Murderer'
Aguilera-Mederos told the court that he is "not a criminal."
"I am not a murderer … it is not me. I have never thought about hurting anybody in my entire life, and my Jesus Christ, he know that," the 26-year-old said.
"The accident — it wasn’t intentional," he insisted, saying that he was "working for the American dream."
"I was not out robbing a bank or a store. I was not out shooting up crowds or a school. I was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol … I was working for a better future for my family," he said.
Appeal
Attorney James Colgan, who represents Aguilera-Mederos, told CNN that his client does not deserve to die in prison and said there will be an appeal.
"There will be an appeal as to the facts and mistakes made in the trial," Colgan stated.
"The issue with this appeal will not be the sentence itself. Under the law, the Court was not incorrect. However, the law, as written, is barbaric and Draconian. There needs to be a change in the law," the lawyer added.
]]>The Inquisitr
