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Mum Of Trucker Handed 110-Year Sentence For Fatal Crash Speaks Out

Mum Of Trucker Handed 110-Year Sentence For Fatal Crash Speaks Out

Four people died in the crash but his sentence has been widely condemned

The mum of a truck driver in the US who was handed a 110-year sentence over a fatal crash has spoken out.

Rogel Aguilera-Mederos was found guilty on 27 counts for a 2019 crash in Colorado that killed four people and injured many others.

Aguilera-Mederos told police he lost control of the truck's brakes before passing through a runaway truck ramp and crashing into lined-up traffic, causing a deadly explosion.

Four people were killed.
Denver7

The 26-year-old was handed a 110-year sentence, and Judge A Bruce Jones said it couldn't be any shorter, as the state has mandatory minimum sentencing laws. 

The sentence caused a public outcry - with Kim Kardashian describing it as 'so unfair' - and more than 4.9 million people have since signed a petition calling for him to be granted clemency.

And now, his mother Oslaida Mederos has spoken out.

"I feel very sad for the people who lost their lives," she told ABC's Nightline.

"And my son is suffering from it, as well as I am. We are Christians, we believe in God and we pray for them. He is a good boy."

She said her son is a 'good boy'.
ABC Nightline

Aguilera-Mederos echoed this sentiment during his sentencing, breaking down in tears and pleading for forgiveness.

He said: "I would have preferred God taken me instead of them.

"I am not a criminal. I am not a murderer. I am not a killer.

"When I look at my charges, we are talking about a murderer, which is not me. I have never thought about hurting anybody in my entire life."

The prosecutor in the case, Jefferson County District Attorney Alexis King, filed a motion requesting the sentence be reduced to between 20-30 years and Judge Bruce Jones has scheduled a hearing to reconsider the sentence on 13 January.

Amid calls for Aguilera-Mederos to be granted clemency, survivors of the crash and families of the victims shared their views on Good Morning America.

Duane Bailey, whose brother William Bailey died in the crash, said 'I think we all can agree that [110 years] is excessive' but added that the jury 'came to the correct decision to convict'.

One of the jurors who found Aguilera-Mederos guilty was devastated by the sentence he was handed.

The juror, who wished to remained anonymous, told FOX31: "I cried my eyes out.

"There is just something wrong to where a judge cannot intervene in some way and say the way this is written is not right."

He added that he didn't think Aguilera-Mederos should be granted clemency but said the sentence was '100-fold of what it should have been'.

He continued: "I don't think the governor should sit there and offer him clemency and let him off, but to step in and say this would be a more suitable sentence for what had happened."

Featured Image Credit: KDVR

Topics: US News, Crime