<p>A truck driver who was sentenced to 110 years in prison for his role in a deadly crash has had his sentence reduced to 10 years by Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO).</p>
<p>Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, a 26-year-old truck driver from Texas, was given the lengthy sentence due to Colorado law following the deadly crash. Aguilera-Mederos maintains that his brakes failed on a downhill grade outside Denver, causing him to fatally strike four people. During his trial, prosecutors argued that Aguilera-Mederos acted recklessly in his decisions prior to the deadly crash.</p>
<p>Aguilera-Mederos was traveling an estimated 85 mph on a stretch of road with a 45 mph speed limit for commercial vehicles. He was sentenced to 110 years in prison for a 28-car crash and fire caused by his failed breaks.</p>
<p>Millions signed a petition to argue that Aguilera-Mederos’ sentence was too steep and on Thursday, Gov. Polis agreed, calling the crash a “tragic but unintentional act,” NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/truck-driver-sentence-reduced-110-years-10-years-colorado-governor-fat-rcna10494">reported</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;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,&#8221; Polis wrote in a letter addressed to Aquilera-Mederos.</p>
<p>Polis added that the case “highlights the lack of uniformity between sentences.”</p>
<p>&#8220;This was a tragic event that affected many Coloradans,&#8221; Polis wrote, according to NBC. &#8220;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.&#8221;</p>
<p>More from NBC:</p>
<blockquote><p><em>First Judicial District Attorney Alexis King told reporters Monday that the case was &#8220;exceptional&#8221; and that it required &#8220;an exceptional process.&#8221; Her office was seeking to resentence him to 20 to 30 years, instead.</em></p>
<p><em>“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.</em></p>
<p><em>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.</em></p>
<p><em>“If I had the discretion, if I thought I had the discretion, I would not run those sentences consecutively,” Jones said.</em></p></blockquote>
<p>Following Aguilera-Mederos’ steep sentencing, a Change.org petition was started with more than five million people demanding his sentence e reduced.</p>
<p>&#8220;This accident was not intentional, nor was it a criminal act on the drivers part. No one but the trucking company he is/was employed by should be held accountable for this accident,&#8221; said the petition, which was started by a woman named Heather Gilbee.</p>
<p>Prior to Polis’ letter reducing Aguilera-Mederos’ sentence, The Denver Post editorial board <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2021/12/15/i-70-trucker-110-years-sentence-aguilera-mederos-unjust-clemency-commute/">called on</a> the governor to commute the sentence.</p>
<p>&#8220;We are not intending to undermine the verdict from the jury — Aguilera-Mederos did indeed kill four people and seriously injure others in a tragic and preventable crash,&#8221; the editorial board wrote.</p>
<p>&#8220;But we do think there is an important distinction that the law, as written, did not allow jurors or the judge to make,&#8221; they added. &#8220;The 26-year-old was not drunk. He was not intentionally driving recklessly because he was in a hurry or out for a thrill or running from police. He was not even full of road rage as his semi-truck accelerated down Interstate 70 out of control.&#8221;</p>

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Colorado Governor Reduces 110-Year Sentence For Truck Driver Who Killed Four