Governor Commutes Century Long Prison Term for Colorado Truck Driver

LAKEWOOD, CO –– Five million signatures and weeks of public outrage has given Rogel Aguilera-Mederos a brighter look to the future.

Earlier this month, Aguilera-Mederos was sentenced to 110 years in prison after his tractor-trailer struck stopped traffic in Colorado –– killing four people and injuring several others. Aguilera-Mederos was traveling 85 mph when his breaks allegedly failed, causing a fiery 28-car pileup.

A Colorado jury found him guilty of 24 charges and sentencing guidelines required Aguilera-Mederos to serve his sentences consecutively instead of concurrently, leaving him with a century-long prison term. During the sentencing hearing, the presiding judge stated the prison term seemed excessive, but he was unable to commute the sentence per state law.

For weeks, a Change.org petition garnered millions of signatures with supporters expressing their concerns Aguilera-Mederos was receiving an excessive term when compared to others who committed similar crimes. A total of 5,026,516 signatures have been collected as of today.

On Thursday, Governor Jared Polis granted Aguilera-Mederos clemency by reducing his sentence from 110 years to 10 years. Aguilera-Mederos will be eligible for parole in five years, starting on December 30, 2026.

"I believe you deserve clemency for several reasons. You were sentenced to 110 years in prison, effectively more than a life sentence, for a tragic but unintentional act. While you are not blameless, your sentence is disproportionate compared with many other inmates in our criminal justice system who committed intentional, premeditated, or violent crimes," said Governor Polis in a statement. "Your highly unusual sentence highlights the lack of uniformity between sentences for similarly situated crimes, which is particularly true when individuals are charged with offenses that require mandatory minimum sentences. This case will hopefully spur an important conversation about sentencing laws, but any subsequent changes to the law would not retroactively impact your sentence, which is why I am granting you this limited commutation."