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Truck driver sentence reduced from 110 years to 10 years by Colorado governor for fatal crash

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis commuted the sentence of Rogel Aguilera-Mederos by 100 years, calling the fatal 2019 accident a “tragic but unintentional act.”
Rogel Aguilera-Mederos in court.
Rogel Aguilera-Mederos in court, on Dec 27, 2021.KUSA
/ Source: NBC News

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday commuted the prison term of a truck driver who was sentenced to 110 years after a fatal accident in 2019, reducing the sentence to 10 years.

The man, Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, 26, killed four people on April 25, 2019, after, he said, his brakes failed on the downhill grade on Interstate 70 eastbound outside Denver. Prosecutors argued that Aguilera-Mederos acted recklessly and made a series of poor decisions before the wreck.

Polis reduced Aguilera-Mederos’ sentence by 100 years, saying in a letter Thursday that the life sentence was inappropriate for a “tragic but unintentional act.”

“While you are not blameless, your sentence is disproportionate compared with many other inmates in our criminal justice system who committed intentional, premeditated, or violent crimes,” Polis said in a letter addressed to Aguilera-Mederos.

Polis disclosed that a relative of Aguilera-Mederos’ attorney works in the governor’s office, but he said the relative was not involved in the decision-making process.

Polis said the case “highlights the lack of uniformity between sentences.”

“This was a tragic event that affected many Coloradans,” Polis wrote. “Though your actions have caused immense pain, I am encouraged by your personal reflection and the commercial vehicle safety changes that were made in the wake of this tragedy to ensure this type of event never happens again.”

Aguilera-Mederos was driving a truck with a trailer carrying lumber, traveling an estimated 85 mph in an area where the speed limit for commercial vehicles is 45 mph, officials have said. A chain-reaction crash and a fire ensued involving 28 vehicles.

Doyle Harrison, 61; William Bailey, 67; Stanley Politano, 69; and Miguel Lamas Arrellano, 24, died in the accident.

A resentencing date had already been scheduled for Jan. 13 as prosecutors sought to reduce Aguilera-Mederos’ prison time.

First Judicial District Attorney Alexis King told reporters Monday that the case was “exceptional” and that it required “an exceptional process.” Her office was seeking to resentence him to 20 to 30 years, instead.

“We have and will take the necessary steps for the court — who is the most informed about what happened in this case — to strike the appropriate balance when considering a new sentence,” King said.

At the initial sentencing, Judge A. Bruce Jones said the law required him to sentence Aguilera-Mederos to consecutive sentences, meaning they are served back to back.

“If I had the discretion, if I thought I had the discretion, I would not run those sentences consecutively,” Jones said.

Public backlash to the century-plus sentence resulted in a petition for commutation that got more than 5 million signatures.

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com.