The future of Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, the Cuban driver sentenced to 110 years in prison for a traffic accident in 2019, may turn upside down soon: the Colorado prosecutor's office will request this Monday to review the sentence downward and impose a maximum penalty of 30 years.
The case of Aguilera-Mederos, 26, has shocked the entire country, to the point of questioning the verdict.
Nearly 5 million people have already signed a petition for Democratic Gov. Jared Polis to commute or pardon his punishment.
The Denver Post, one of the most influential in the state, also asked the governor in an editorial to swap the sentence.
Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, the truck driver accused of causing a fatal multiple crash on Interstate 70 near Denver, Thursday, April 25, 2019.
The outrage generated by the sentence and the
calls to reverse it
have put such pressure on the prosecution that it finally agreed last week to request a session in which to examine the sentence.
"
The law also allows the court to reconsider its sentence in an exceptional case
involving unusual and extenuating circumstances," the motion alleged.
I would have preferred to die.
It was never intentional "
Rogel Aguilera-Mederos Cuban driver
On April 25, 2019, the young Cuban rammed the truck in which he was transporting wood against a group of vehicles stopped on the I-70 interstate highway, near Lakewood, not far from Denver, due to a previous accident.
The collision sparked a large chain fire that involved 28 cars and left four dead.
"I didn't see those ramps"
Aguilera-Mederos declared during the trial that the brakes failed and that, despite trying to use the emergency brakes, he could not avoid the impact.
He was traveling at more than 85 miles per hour.
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However,
the prosecution argued that he missed several occasions to avoid the accident
, such as taking a runaway truck ramp.
"I would have preferred to die before those people and God knows I'm telling the truth.
God knows how many times I've asked him why they and I didn't,
" the young Cuban confessed in an interview with the Telemundo station in Denver.
"At that time I did not see those ramps, I did not see them, that is a difficult moment to explain," he said.
"I want to tell those families [of the victims] that
it was never intentional, never,
" she said through tears.
"I would like to speak to them face to face,
tell them I am very sorry and forgive me
."
Colorado laws
A jury found him guilty in October of 27 counts, including four of vehicular manslaughter, six of first-degree assault, and 10 of attempted first-degree assault, some of which were subject to sentencing standards.
["The punishment does not fit the crime": what chances does the truck driver sentenced to 110 years have that his sentence will be reduced]
The judge who handed down the sentence on December 13, A. Bruce Jones, assured that, of power,
he would not make him serve the sentences consecutively
, as dictated by Colorado law for certain types of crimes.
The governor's office said last week that it was studying the case.
"We have just received the request from Rogel Aguilera-Mederos and
our legal team is currently reviewing it
. Once we make a decision, we will make an announcement," explained a spokesperson.
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The driver's lawyer, James Colgan, explained to Noticias Telemundo that appealing a case like this "could take a couple of years."
"This is
one of the biggest judicial errors
that I have seen, that is why the case has had so much resonance," he stressed.
"A punishment has to fit the crime and the punishment does not match the crime in this case," said the lawyer.