On April 25, 2019, 23-year-old truck driver Rogel Aguilera-Mederos was driving on Interstate 70 in the Colorado area.
This is a section of road in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, and it is inevitable that there will be some steep slopes in the middle.
Interstate 70
As usual, Rogel, who was on the road, thought about getting to the next station on time and transporting a cart of wood to its destination safely.
He didn't notice that the brakes of the semi-trailer truck in his hand had begun to smoke.
I don't know, after that he couldn't make the car stop on its own.
The truck brakes failed, it was downhill, and the speed soared again,
Rogel panicked completely, he failed to drive the car on the side of the road specially designed for out-of-control vehicles buffer road,
Instead, it is trying to avoid other vehicles in the lane and trying to slow down by shifting gears.
Rogel
But with little success, the truck still dives downward at a speed of approaching 140 kilometers per hour.
It was rush hour, and there were a lot of vehicles on the low road, many of which were as large as Rogel's trucks.
The people on the whole road were terrified, but it was too late to dodge....
Rogel hit 28 cars in a row, the road made a loud noise, the fire burned, people fled in all directions, the entire section of the road was paralyzed in a large area, the tragic situation was amazing,
This serious accident caused a total of 4 deaths and 6 injuries.
The four deceased were aged 69, 67, 61 and 24, respectively.
Two of them, unable to escape from the driver's seat in time because the car was hit and deformed, were burned alive by the scorching fire....
Rogel was not injured.
But looking at the tragic situation in front of him, he couldn't believe what he had done....
After the accident, the whole United States was in an uproar,
Rogel was soon arrested, born in Cuba in 1995 to give his family a better life, and is now a U.S. citizen.
While driving, Rogel did not take any drugs or alcohol,
He also never had any previous convictions for crimes or traffic violations,
This car accident, after all, was just an accident.
Although there is no motive for committing a crime,
But for such a tragedy, Rogel had to pay the price.
After more than two years of investigation, Rogel was charged with 27 charges in court in October.
These include 4 counts of vehicle homicide, 2 counts of vehicle assault, 6 counts of first-degree assault, 10 counts of attempted first-degree attack, one count of reckless driving, and 4 counts of death resulting from negligent driving.
On December 13, the verdict was handed down and Rogel was sentenced to 110 years in prison.
The judges held that although the driver himself did not intentionally commit the crime, he could have driven to the buffer road next to the highway to prevent the tragedy.
But he kept driving on the road, missing two opportunities to drive on the buffer road.
The minimum sentence for each of the 27 counts adds up to 110 years.
That's almost twice the sentence of some intentional murderers in the state....
Although the judge also found the sentence to be excessively long, Colorado law provides that if the crime of first-degree assault and the crime of attempted first-degree attack occur in the same case, the sentences must be superimposed and cannot overlap.
Therefore, the judges have no power to reduce the sentence for Rogel, and 110 years is the maximum "leniency" they can do....
The moment he learned of the verdict, Rogel wept bitterly on the spot and pleaded with the judge's forgiveness:
"It's hard to bear, I know it was a terrible accident and I'll take responsibility, but it was an accident.
I had never thought of hurting anyone in my life, and I was not a criminal or a murderer.
The accident was an accident, not intentional. I did everything I could as a man, and I put myself in danger so as not to hurt other people.
I didn't run away after the accident because I respected the law.
I want to apologize, for the losses and casualties I have caused. I asked God many times why it was them and not me...."
The 110-year sentence is difficult for anyone to accept, and the American people are also shocked.
Because they felt that no matter what, Rogel would not be guilty of this.
So someone took the lead in launching a petition to reduce his sentence.
In just a few weeks, more than 5 million people gathered to speak up for Rogel:
Everyone thinks that such a verdict is really very unfair:
"What a terrible tragedy, some prisoners who deliberately injured and murdered others, the sentences were shorter than his.
The lad seemed genuinely disturbed by the tragedy that had taken place that day.
If it was just an accident and his brakes did fail, then 110 years in prison would be too long.
That's what judges should think, because they also want to impose a minimum sentence.
The law, which adds sentences to 110 years, should be re-evaluated. ”
"Oh my God, he had a problem with his brakes, he missed the emergency ramp, and he couldn't stop because it was downhill and so fast.
Yes, people's deaths are terrible, but he has no reason to go to 110 years in prison. Hopefully, he will be able to turn the case over, all of which is emotionally at work, the sentence is too heavy, and it will not let the loved one come back. ”
"If an incident caused by mechanical failure and misjudgment is overly severe, such a sentence is better than a drunk driver."
"The mandatory minimum sentence is ridiculous. Each case needs to be assessed on its own merits, and judges are to deal with it at their discretion when sentencing. ”
"I don't understand the logic behind this verdict. If it was an accident, it would be too unjust. If he didn't have some kind of mental disability, or if he wasn't going to kill intentionally, how could he be sentenced to life in prison? The case needs to be re-examined. ”
Even Kim Kardashian, who was studying law, was involved.
She joined the petition and called on the Governor of Colorado to do "the right thing."
Under local law, only the governor can grant amnesty and commutation of sentence to convicts.
So Colorado Gov. Jared Polis became the focus of lobbying.
In the petition, they asked him to forgive Rogel and reduce his sentence to an acceptable range.
Boris
Originally, even Rogel's defense lawyer thought that the probability of overturning the verdict was extremely low.
But unexpectedly, just two weeks later, on December 30, the good news came out.
On the same day, Rogel was commuted by 100 years in one breath, only to serve 10 years.
He is also eligible for parole after December 30, 2026, after which he can return home and be reunited with his wife and children.
Gov. Pauli Polis said in the commutation document that it was a correction of an "unjust" sentence.
Although the accident was tragic, it was not intentional.
Although Rogel made a series of negligent decisions, he had no intention of hurting anyone.
It can be said that this case, which has attracted the attention of the people of the United States, has finally come to an end.
Maybe Rogel can finally get a good night's sleep....