Young Cuban trucker Rogel Aguilera Mederos was sentenced to 110 years in prison for causing a road accident west of Denver, Colorado in April 2019, in which four people were burned to death and dozens of other drivers were injured.
The judge ruled on Monday that Aguilera must serve consecutive sentences for each of the charges of which he was convicted, a decision that considerably extended the time of imprisonment of the now ex-truck driver, who otherwise would have only been in jail for a maximum of 48 years.
On October 15, a jury found Aguilera, 25, born in Surgidero de Batabano (Cuba), guilty of 27 counts. The charges included four vehicular manslaughter for the deaths of Doyle Harrison, William Bailey, Miguel Ángel Lamas Arellano and Stanley Politano when Aguilera, while driving on Interstate 70, lost control of the truck in which he was transporting wood.
Due to a previous accident, the traffic on Interstate 70 was at wheel turn. At the same time, the truck driven by Aguilera was coming down from the mountains without brakes and at almost 140 kilometers per hour.
Upon encountering the detained vehicles, the truck collided with at least 12 of them. The impact generated a fire so intense that the pavement of the road melted.
Because of this, Aguilera was also convicted of indifference to human life, physical assault and attempted physical assault, careless driving and causing deaths from careless driving.
Before the verdict was released on Monday, Gage Evans, William Bailey’s widow, told the case judge that the death of her 67-year-old husband on the day of the accident (April 25, 2019), was “devastating” for her and her family, adding that “the world is definitely worse” without Bailey.
Evans blamed Aguilera for agreeing to drive his vehicle “on a route for which he did not have the necessary experience”, referring to the difficult descent from the Rocky Mountains to Denver that, due to its decline, frequently causes overheating in the brakes of cargo trucks.
Evans said Aguilera “deserves the time in prison she received” and announced that she and other relatives of the victims are now part of a group that seeks to increase the safety of trucks circulating in the United States.
During his trial, Aguilera insisted that it was not his misperception, but a mechanical failure in the brakes, which prevented him from avoiding the accident. But, according to the prosecution, the young driver had to use one of the several emergency ramps along the road precisely to stop the truck.
On Monday, before being sentenced, Aguilera spoke in English and, visibly excited, declared that his life “has been very difficult, depressing and horrible” since the accident, stressing he never thought of hurting anyone. In addition, he said, the long sentence that awaits him “is no longer life”. In closing, he said he has hope and faith in God that he will not die in prison.
Last October, the jury agreed with the prosecution, holding that Aguilera had made “numerous bad decisions,” including not checking the brakes before entering the road and not leaving the road when it became clear that the brakes were no longer working.
