The Colorado truck driver who crashed his 18-wheeler into dozens of vehicles on a Colorado highway, killing four people and injuring six others in 2019, was sentenced to 110 consecutive years in prison — as he got emotional before the sentencing, insisting that he’s “not a murderer.”
The 26-year-old driver, Rogel Aguilera-Medros, was convicted of vehicular homicide in addition to other charges. Rogel testified in court that he tried his best to slam on the brakes to stop his semitrailer but said they failed. However, prosecutors accused him of not taking any runaway truck ramps while traveling about 85 mph on Interstate 70 west of Denver.
The pileup, which involved several gas tanks, caused high flames that consumed many other vehicles and melted parts of the highway. The people killed in the accident were 24-year-old Miguel Angel Lamas Arellano, 67-year-old William Bailey, 61-year-old Doyle Harrison, and 69-year-old Stanley Politano.
While addressing the court at sentencing, Rogel tearfully insisted that he’s not a murderer as he asked the victims’ families to forgive him.
“I am not a criminal,” he said. “I am not a murderer. I am not a killer. When I look at my charges, we are talking about a murderer, which is not me. I have never thought about hurting anybody in my entire life.”
District Court Judge Bruce Jones, who imposed the sentence, stated that it would not be his sentence if he had the discretion. However, the ruling was the mandatory minimum term under state law, according to The Denver Post.
The deadly accident occurred on April 25, 2019, while Rogel was on a part of the interstate where commercial vehicles are limited to 45 mph due to a steep descent from the Rocky Mountain foothills, according to authorities. The initial impact caused a 28-vehicle chain-reaction wreck.
“I accept and respect what the defendant has said about his lack of intent to hurt people, but he made a series of terrible decisions, reckless decisions,” the judge said, according to the report.
