Over four million people have signed a petition asking for a truck driver’s 110-year prison sentence to be shortened following his conviction over a fatal accident.
Rogel Aguilera-Mederos was driving a truck that crashed into several cars and killed four people in Colorado in 2019.
The petition, posted on Change.org, calls on Colorado Gov. Jared PolisJared Schutz Polis Sunday shows preview: COVID-19 cases surge amid omicron wave Governors grapple with vaccine mandates ahead of midterms Sunday shows preview: Multiple states detect cases of the omicron variant MORE (D) to grant the driver “clemency or commutation-as time served,” noting that the then-23-year-old had nothing on his driving record and no criminal history.
“This accident was not intentional, nor was it a criminal act on the drivers (sic) part. No one but the trucking company he is/was employed by should be held accountable for this accident,” it said.
Aguilera-Mederos has said malfunctioning brakes caused the crash, but prosecutors argued that the driver was at fault for decisions like not steering the truck to a runaway ramp, according to The New York Times.
In October, a jury found Aguilera-Mederos guilty of 27 counts including vehicular homicide and vehicular assault, and in December, the now 26-year-old driver was sentenced to 110 years in prison, the Times reported.
“If I had the discretion, it would not be my sentence,” Jefferson County District Judge Bruce Jones said, adding that he had “no desire” to sentence Aguilera-Mederos to life in prison, according to Reuters.
However, Colorado state law requires that time for each count to be served consecutively, not concurrently.