Truck Driver 110 Year Sentence?? Is It Safe To Tow in Colorado?

White016 · Dec 23, 2021

John877 said:
I have driven that route many times, I-70 down from the Front Range into Denver. The thing that troubles me he was down on the flat part of I-70 for the better part of 5 to 7 miles and still doing 85 miles an hour. Seriously, no engine braking no down shifting no trying to ease the truck off the road. My theory is he was driving recklessly and came upon stopped traffic and slammed into 28 vehicles at 85 mph. His excuse "My brakes failed". I chalk this up to driver inexperience and driver recklessness.

I bet you are right. That would explain a lot.

GH1618 · Dec 23, 2021

Goodspike said:
... Seattle had one of those "Ride The Ducks" vehicles loose control and cause a rather horrific crash that killed at least one person. It was a design defect of the vehicle, so I doubt the driver was liable. This article indicates liability was shared by the manufacturer and owner.

Those DUKWs don’t belong on the public roads, in my opinion.

Goodspike · Dec 23, 2021

GH1618 said:
He was speeding because he could not control his speed on the downgrade.

I should have been more clear. IF he lost control because he was speeding down the hill, that could be a criminal matter. THAT he might have been speeding AFTER losing control would be another matter. I'm going to assume that the reports of his going 85 mph was after lowing control, but that's not a certain fact by any means.

Goodspike · Dec 23, 2021

GH1618 said:
I mostly drive the freeways on the west coast. My experience is that truckers are better drivers than they were a few decades ago.

Not in Washington. Truck drivers used to be more courteous and professional. The change however might be due to getting fed up with rude and inconsiderate car drivers.

Goodspike · Dec 23, 2021

GH1618 said:
Those DUKWs don’t belong on the public roads, in my opinion.

They were probably okay on downtown Seattle streets where traffic is stop and go and the speed limit is 25 mph. The accident was on a 6 lane bridge with a 45 mph speed limit, if memory serves. I don't think it contributed, since it was a mechanical failure, but the bride is relatively old with narrow lanes.

GH1618 · Dec 23, 2021

Goodspike said:
They were probably okay on downtown Seattle streets where traffic is stop and go and the speed limit is 25 mph. The accident was on a 6 lane bridge with a 45 mph speed limit, if memory serves. I don't think it contributed, since it was a mechanical failure, but the bride is relatively old with narrow lanes.

Yes, it was on the Aurora Bridge.

Goodspike · Dec 23, 2021

GH1618 said:
Yes, it was on the Aurora Bridge.

Yes the same bridge where a several years earlier an articulated bus crashed off the bridge when some lunatic tried to hijack the bus and it crashed.

Bus plunges over Aurora Bridge in 1998: Passenger recalls the crash

<p>On Nov. 27, 1998, a Metro bus plunged off the Aurora Bridge in Seattle. The bus driver, a passenger and the gunman who shot the driver and himself were killed. The video included with this story shows the crash scene from overhead and includes an interview with Laethan Wene, who survived the...

www.kiro7.com

.

Some dumb-ass politician in DC thought that making it illegal to have guns on public transport would prevent that sort of thing.

SShawn · Dec 23, 2021

John877 said:
I have driven that route many times, I-70 down from the Front Range into Denver. The thing that troubles me he was down on the flat part of I-70 for the better part of 5 to 7 miles and still doing 85 miles an hour. Seriously, no engine braking no down shifting no trying to ease the truck off the road. My theory is he was driving recklessly and came upon stopped traffic and slammed into 28 vehicles at 85 mph. His excuse "My brakes failed". I chalk this up to driver inexperience and driver recklessness.

That seems likely given his past. From the article:

Aguilera-Mederos was convicted earlier this year on 27 charges, including four counts of vehicular homicide, six counts of first-degree assault, 10 counts of attempt to commit assault in the first degree- extreme indifference, two counts of vehicular assault- reckless, one count of reckless driving, and four counts of careless driving causing death. He was found not guilty on 15 counts of criminal attempt to commit assault in the first degree.

I'm sure this factored into the sentancing.

Duken4evr · Dec 23, 2021

As part of my work as an independent adjuster, I handle transportation claims involving heavy trucks. The transportation industry has changed greatly over the last decade or so. High profile targets like Walmart pay their drivers decent money and benefits, and they attract good drivers as a result. The problem is there are thousands of small "transportation companies" who get fed their loads/business by logistics companies. These small operators are more often than not foreign drivers and "low bidder" operations. Cutthroat foreign drivers and the cockroach like transportation companies they drive for have run legitimate drivers and transportation companies out of the transportation business. When it all goes wrong, as it did in this case, these transportation companies fold up their LLCs and re-open under new names/LLCs. It is with this sort of operation that the trouble lies.

Then 23 year old Aguilera-Mederos, a Cuban immigrant, did not speak English, so what sort of training did he have to operate a semi in a mountain environment, and how is he supposed to comprehend the sustained "7% grade" or the "Runaway Truck Ramp Ahead" signs that he missed while barreling down I-70? I would love to see being able to read and write in English required to obtain a commercial driver's license (CDL) for operating heavy trucks in the US. I don't think Aguilera-Mederos should have been allowed to legally drive a passenger car, much less a semi, in this country. I see the damage and lack of accountability caused by foreign drivers every day in my work and am admittedly jaded by it and tired of it. Always a hand out when they are owed money, always "no habla" hiding behind aliases, and avoiding responsibility when they are at fault, which is more often than not.

We allow foreign drivers to drive big rigs for cut rate wages, and then we get 3rd world results like we had in Colorado. America's roads deserve better than this. The 110 year sentence is unfair, as Aguilera-Mederos should never have been legally allowed to be behind the wheel of that truck in the first place. The fact that Aguilera-Mederos did have a CDL while being so obviously incompetent to drive what was probably an unsafely maintained semi through the mountains of Colorado is due to the American government's failure to properly regulate the transportation industry.

eldee54 · Dec 23, 2021

Duken, I agree totally. A good, informed, succinct statement.

White016 · Dec 23, 2021

@Goodspike
It appears you are correct. I saw on NBC news last night the judge did not agree with the sentence and even the DA is filing to lower it.
edit: like at @GH1618 said. (I missed that earlier)

JeffreyG · Dec 23, 2021

Duken4evr basically covered it, the thread can end. TL

R, the freight company race to the bottom if putting people on the road with trucks they shouldn't be driving. This guy doesn't deserve 110 years, because he never should have been on the road in the first place. Great summary.

The guy does deserve more than a slap on the wrist though. This was more than just a little bad judgement.

I got my class A CDL in 2014, and while the training and test covered a lot of stuff, it also did not cover a lot of crucial things. Like, how to safely drive in the mountains for example.

Tom S. · Dec 23, 2021

Goodspike said:
Yes the same bridge where a several years earlier an articulated bus crashed off the bridge when some lunatic tried to hijack the bus and it crashed.

Bus plunges over Aurora Bridge in 1998: Passenger recalls the crash

<p>On Nov. 27, 1998, a Metro bus plunged off the Aurora Bridge in Seattle. The bus driver, a passenger and the gunman who shot the driver and himself were killed. The video included with this story shows the crash scene from overhead and includes an interview with Laethan Wene, who survived the...

www.kiro7.com

.

Some dumb-ass politician in DC thought that making it illegal to have guns on public transport would prevent that sort of thing.

Wow - that bridge has bad ju-ju!

White016 · Dec 23, 2021

JeffreyG said:
the thread can end.

🐐time?
aha

GH1618 · Dec 24, 2021

Duken4evr said:
...
We allow foreign drivers to drive big rigs for cut rate wages, and then we get 3rd world results like we had in Colorado. America's roads deserve better than this. The 110 year sentence is unfair, as Aguilera-Mederos should never have been legally allowed to be behind the wheel of that truck in the first place. The fact that Aguilera-Mederos did have a CDL while being so obviously incompetent to drive what was probably an unsafely maintained semi through the mountains of Colorado is due to the American government's failure to properly regulate the transportation industry.

That sums it up, I think. Seems to me the operators of such companies should be held more accountable, possibly criminally, but at least prevented from re-entering the business.

Goodspike · Dec 24, 2021

None of the passes I frequent in Washington are so steep that they need a runaway lane, the Cascades are not as large as the Rockies. So here's a question. Do they have wide shoulders on the right? I'm thinking a runaway truck would need a lane of its own to avoid hitting cars in front of it before getting to the stopping area. Otherwise the driver might face the choice of going around a car to miss the car, but also then missing the runaway ramp.

Duken4evr · Dec 25, 2021

Goodspike said:
None of the passes I frequent in Washington are so steep that they need a runaway lane, the Cascades are not as large as the Rockies. So here's a question. Do they have wide shoulders on the right? I'm thinking a runaway truck would need a lane of its own to avoid hitting cars in front of it before getting to the stopping area. Otherwise the driver might face the choice of going around a car to miss the car, but also then missing the runaway ramp.

I-70 is west of Denver is pretty hairball. Vail Pass peaks at 10.6K elevation, Eisenhower Tunnel at over 11,000. Both are most definitely Alpine environments. The weather can turn on a dime, the grades are 7 to 8% and they go on for miles.

Although it is lower, Vail Pass is particularly sketchy. The road is curvier there and it is perpetually chewed up. If one does not pay attention, their stiffly suspended truck can chatter right off the road. Just driving my Canyon through there with a small trailer with dirt bikes on it warrants my full attention - anyone behind the wheel of a big rig going through that area, especially in weather, better fully know what they are doing.

Goodspike · Dec 31, 2021

The governor reduced the sentence down to 10 years. Per another article he also commuted a 1000+ marijuana sentences, which seems sort of late given CO was the first state to legalize for recreational use.

Colorado governor cuts 100 years off sentence for truck driver in fatal crash

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) on Thursday commuted the 110-year sentence of the truck driver involved in a crash that killed four people, calling the sentence that was handed down “highl…

thehill.com

Duken4evr · Dec 31, 2021

Goodspike said:
The governor reduced the sentence down to 10 years. Per another article he also commuted a 1000+ marijuana sentences, which seems sort of late given CO was the first state to legalize for recreational use.

Colorado governor cuts 100 years off sentence for truck driver in fatal crash

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) on Thursday commuted the 110-year sentence of the truck driver involved in a crash that killed four people, calling the sentence that was handed down “highl…

thehill.com

I think the pardon with the MJ convictions was simply removing them from the criminal records of those who were charged.

The governor reducing the sentence to 10 years for the driver is a good outcome in my opinion. What happened was tragic, but not intentional, and as I mentioned earlier, the whole mess really is due to failing on our government's part. Perhaps this flagrant incident will highlight the hazard of allowing unqualified drivers and unsafe rigs on the roads of America. Once can at least naively dream that the government would be spurred into action on this issue.

Goodspike · Dec 31, 2021

Duken4evr said:
I think the pardon with the MJ convictions was simply removing them from the criminal records of those who were charged.

Yes, but it seems late. Washington, the second state to legalize, set something up way back in 2019.

The governor reducing the sentence to 10 years for the driver is a good outcome in my opinion. What happened was tragic, but not intentional, and as I mentioned earlier, the whole mess really is due to failing on our government's part. Perhaps this flagrant incident will highlight the hazard of allowing unqualified drivers and unsafe rigs on the roads of America. Once can at least naively dream that the government would be spurred into action on this issue.

Ideally two things will come of this. First, the driver qualifications issues you mention. Second, Colorado's legislature should fix the consecutive sentencing laws.

Truck Driver 110 Year Sentence?? Is It Safe To Tow in Colorado?

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Bus plunges over Aurora Bridge in 1998: Passenger recalls the crash

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Bus plunges over Aurora Bridge in 1998: Passenger recalls the crash

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