Colorado D.A. celebrates with grotesque
'trophy' after trucker whose brakes failed
sentenced to 110 years in prison
American Thinker,
by
Monica Showalter
Original Article
Posted By: PageTurner,
12/23/2021 8:06:52 AM
Most of us were pretty horrified by the travesty of justice that went down in Colorado, where a 23-year-old truck driver who lost control of his huge vehicle after its brakes failed and ended up in a fiery crash that killed four people and injured dozens of others, got a 110-year prison sentence. Rogel Aguilera-Mederos's 2019 accident was attributed not to the failure of his brakes, but entirely to a failure in his judgment over whether he could take an offramp (try doing that without brakes in a state of panic). As a result, the poor Cuban immigrant with no criminal record got a de facto death sentence
Reply 1 - Posted by:
Gordon Freeman 12/23/2021 8:10:47 AM (No. 1016431)
When do you think the governor will get involved?
1 person likes this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
Clinger 12/23/2021 8:25:16 AM (No. 1016441)
This article made my blood boil. The driver needs to be set free, his record cleared and Lil ' Kayla and Trevor need to be flogged in public, put in the stocks and have plenty of rotten fruit available for the public to express themselves with. After a few days of that then tarred and feathered and run out of Colorado on a rail.
10 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
Laotzu 12/23/2021 8:42:07 AM (No. 1016469)
I live in a mountain west town where every one to two years a dump truck looses brakes and kills a driver on our on long, downhill road. The road in this story is well known and well-signed for brake problems. The media (and most Americans) have no idea how brakes work and think this was some kind of random, spontaneous incident. No, it was a truck owner saying that the money he saved for timely maintenance was worth the risk to your life, and a truck driver who was willing to look the other way or totally skip his operator inspections and take the paycheck while putting innocent life at risk. I am fed up with the know-nothings who think this was a travesty.
26 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
john56 12/23/2021 8:54:39 AM (No. 1016486)
Wait a minute. I think I have a decent sarcasm meter, and all I get is an error message.
These prosecutors did their job. A guy who willingly drove a truck with faulty brakes and knowingly avoided using a exit route slams into and kills 4 people SHOULD get life in prison.
And if the attorneys have a "trophy" call it what you will to commemorate their accomplishment, so be it.
17 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
Corndoggies 12/23/2021 9:05:59 AM (No. 1016501)
I’m disappointed in Ms Showalter. All the groups advocating for rogel are known leftists. And one of the four killed was a 26 year old Latino man. Where’s his justice? Rogel was offered a plea deal but doesn’t think he did anything wrong. So here we are. I too am tired of people calling it an “accident” and not knowing all the facts of the case.
12 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
zephyrgirl 12/23/2021 9:06:16 AM (No. 1016503)
The brakes on this truck “failed” because the driver rode them down a very steep grade out of the Colorado Rockies for MILES. Riding brakes for this distance on a steep, downhill grade overheats them and causes them to fail. I’ve driven this grade many times and am quite familiar with it and the signage. This grade is well-known to Coloradans, and is well-marked with numerous warnings to truckers (and other drivers) to downshift and stay in the slowest lanes. Further, there is at least one “runaway truck ramp,” also well marked for just the situation this trucker found himself in. I’ve driven by it many times. It isn’t an “off ramp,” (as described in the article), but a long, deeply graveled, lane alongside the highway, ending in sand-filled barrels. It is specifically designed to stop a runaway semi-truck. They are common and well-known to mountain drivers. I’ve actually seen such a ramp being used (in a different location) and they work as designed. There are numerous signs alerting truckers to the ramp. This trucker drove past all that signage and drove his out-of-control truck into rush hour traffic, causing an inferno that took four lives. In short, this was a preventable accident was caused by the driver’s negligence and failure to (1) heed and follow the warning signs, and (2) take advantage of the emergency ramp put there specifically for his situation.
33 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
LC Chihuahua 12/23/2021 9:23:45 AM (No. 1016522)
The only objection I have in this is some gang banger would plan and carry out the murder of four people, and their sentence wouldn't be as stiff as this. What's the appropriate sentence for the truck driver? Not sure, but it should be stiff. I would have been content he had received 50-60 years. Just so long as they are off the road. No fun having some speeding 18 wheeler driving up my rear end wondering if their foolishness is going to get me killed.
12 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
Dodge Boy 12/23/2021 9:23:55 AM (No. 1016523)
Due to the driver's negligence, he killed some people due to poor judgment. Not sure that 110 years is appropriate, but either way, his life as a free man is over. By the way, the DA should be disbarred for such behavior and banned from ever practicing law in Colorado again.
12 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
MDConservative 12/23/2021 10:22:11 AM (No. 1016589)
FTA: "Draconian sentences reduce public regard for the law, as it's only dictatorships that do them."
Let's start with reforming our "War on Drugs" laws...and such as civil forfeiture...
4 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
Gordon Mills 12/23/2021 10:56:25 AM (No. 1016615)
#2, free the driver and clear his record when it was found he violated laws and killed people? As far as the other 2, keep them in Colorado we don't want them.
4 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
DVC 12/23/2021 11:02:42 AM (No. 1016620)
The prosecutor shouldn't gloat, but Showalter is WAY off base with this screed. That baloney about "dirty, dangerous, low-paid job" is just non-factual. I have ridden with semi-drivers in years past when they would pick up hitchhikers and the cabs are nice, clean, heated and cooled with very comfortable seats. And 'low paid' is a fraud, too. From what I have read, over the road drivers earn from $40,000 to $55,000 per year.
Dangerous.....if you're incompetent, yeah, but not if you are a properly trained driver. And as far as the difficulty of taking one of those runaway truck ramps....they are lined up to be super easy to hit with a very small turn of the steering wheel, pretty much a few inches movement of the wheel and then hold a straight course as you aim for the wide ramp.
Given the radical, stupid "discounting" of all prison sentences these days, where a "life" sentence now may only get the person an actual 7-15 years behind bars rather than "until they die in prison" as it used to be intended, I don't see this 110 year sentence as dramatically overboard.
This driver acted very irresponsibly, and chose NOT to take at least one, probably multiple runaway truck ramps placed on that long, steep mountain grade specifically to permit the safe stopping of a truck with "failed" brakes.
And what about those "failed" brakes? In many cases, was it "failure" or just incompetence? Incompetent drivers let the truck accelerate down steep grades, without gearing down or braking at low speeds, to high speeds and then try to slow down, and use their brakes heavily, again and again, and again...overheating the brakes to the point that they "fail". This "failure" is absolutely predictable and can be created at will.
Keeping the speed slow down the mountain by using lower gears, engine braking and braking sparingly, AT LOW SPEEDS and not letting speed build up keeps the heat buildup in the brakes within their capability to dissipate it to the air. The energy put into brakes to slow from 40 to 20 mph is only half the energy the brakes must absorb to slow from 70 to 50 mph. Coming down that mountain at an average speed of 30 mph compared to an average speed of 60 mph puts half the energy into the brakes per application, and gives the brakes twice as long to dissipate that heat to the air. And letting the engine braking help is very important, assuming that the truck has an exhaust brake, which I believe that most (all?) modern semi-tractors have. A slow mountain grade descent is safe mountain grade descent. This driver made serious, deadly errors in driving on that grade, and those stupid errors resulted in the deaths of four and injuries to six more. Negligent homicides, clearly, in my view.
I usually agree with Showalter. This time she's totally full of .....beans. Is the prosecutor out of line with the 'trophy' posting? Yes, they should never gloat. But Showalter is just as out of line with this screed.
13 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
DVC 12/23/2021 11:03:28 AM (No. 1016622)
#2, you are being manipulated by Showalter's propaganda.
2 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
buckeye1 12/23/2021 12:09:22 PM (No. 1016685)
This semi truck driver says that inexperienced truck drivers sometimes makes deadly mistakes.. the trucking industry churns out young drive with very little experience in a truck. He may have overheated his brakes that caused this accident. This sentence is, however, ĺ. outrageous..
1 person likes this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
DVC 12/23/2021 12:18:12 PM (No. 1016695)
For anyone who isn't clear what a runaway truck ramp is, or how it is used.....here is a video of a real runaway truck with the brakes smoking furiously from being overheated or "failed". This is what the driver in the quad fatality wreck failed to do. Very cool video.
https://unofficialnetworks.com/2020/02/20/runaway-truck-ramp/
3 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
DVC 12/23/2021 12:23:29 PM (No. 1016702)
More facts about the runaway truck ramps on this stretch of mountain highway.
https://kdvr.com/news/local/cdot-considering-additional-runaway-truck-ramp-near-denver/
1 person likes this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
red1066 12/23/2021 12:54:03 PM (No. 1016731)
Having driven many roads in Colorado, there are a number of run offs where a truck could bail if the brakes failed. Most are at the bottom of mountains where if the driver applies his brakes and suddenly finds out he has no brakes, he has a bail out place to go. The brakes on this truck must have worked at some point before the crash. However, look at all the video of trucks traveling way too fast for conditions, and the accidents that result of too much speed. These drivers are pressured to get the products from point A to point B as quickly as possible. I once worked on a truck driver who on a weekly basis, would drive from Baltimore to California in three days, turn around, and drive back for the weekend.
1 person likes this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
RubiconDan 12/23/2021 1:12:16 PM (No. 1016749)
I have a Class A CDL and I have driven semi-trucks over the road and across the country. There are many 'facts' left unknown in this article, but I place the blame for this accident solely upon the driver and not on the truck. Facts unknown? First question about facts? How did this driver get a Class A license? One must demonstrate a routine ability to perform a pre-trip inspection of the entire truck and one must demonstrate the ability to test/use the air brakes in order to pass the first part of the license test. His brakes did not fail, he failed basic truck driving skills. Second question about facts? How heavy was the load? Unless the load was at or near the maximum 80,000 lb limit, then he could have stopped the truck with functioning air brakes at anytime. If the brakes 'fail' due to an air pressure failure, then the springs activate inside the brakes and all the wheels on the tractor and trailer come to an immediate full stop., but if you are already at a high speed, the brakes will overheat and not be able to stop the truck by themselves. If the load is near the limit for weight, then ANY and ALL Class A drivers know to keep the speed below 35 mph on a downgrade or the brakes will not stop you, but will overheat. He likely failed his downshift at the top of the grade due to ignorance or inattention, then lost control of the speed, and THEN tried to use the brakes to slow down, but they overheated. Driver failure. NO excuse. THEN he panicked and forgot to use/missed the runaway truck ramp despite multiple signs that it was ahead. Driver failure. NO excuse. Third question? Who trained this driver? All drivers must demonstrate the knowledge and actual ability to use the appropriate gear on a downgrade. You must be in the correct gear to go up the hill or you won't go up the hill, AND, you must be in the correct gear, or use the correct engine brake on an automatic, to go down the hill safely or you will GO down the hill and crash, Driver failure. NO excuse.
3 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
bgarrett 12/23/2021 1:24:28 PM (No. 1016773)
S0mebody tell Monica it was NOT, repeat, NOT an exit ramp. It is a ramp for a runaway truck with no brakes ramp designed to safely stop a truck with no brakes and only any idiot would pass it when he knows he has no brakes
1 person likes this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
mc squared 12/23/2021 2:39:18 PM (No. 1016861)
Who owned the truck?
0 people like this.
Below, you will find ...
Most Recent Articles posted by "PageTurner"
and
Most Active Articles (last 48 hours)
Comments:
How can you not despise them?