1st Judicial District D.A. Pete Weir has filed charges against the truck driver believed to have cause a fiery 28-vehicle crash that killed four people on I-70 on April 25th. Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos (23) faces 40 counts including four counts of vehicular homicide, six counts of first degree assault and 24 counts of attempted first degree assault.
The District Attorney says Aguilera-Mederos was indifferent to human life as he drove his semi loaded with lumber down I-70. He missed a runaway truck ramp and was going 85 miles an hour in a zone where the speed limit for trucks was 45 mph. When he encountered cars stopped on the highway behind a previous accident he choose to turn left into the cars rather than turn right onto the shoulder of the road. His preliminary hearing has been set for July 11th. If convicted on all 40 counts, he could spend decades in prison.
Meanwhile, Aguilera-Mederos' lawyer, Robert Corry, is calling the charges premature and a massive overreach. He says his client gave police a 90-minute interview after the crash and answered all of questions he was asked. His family says he claims the brakes on the truck failed. The trucking company he worked for has a history of safety violations.