Vehicular Homicide Charges Filed in I-70 Crash
The April 25 crash and fire killed four people and injured four others. Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos, who allegedly lost control of his truck and ran into stopped vehicles, has been charged with 40 counts.
Pete Weir, district attorney in Colorado's Jefferson and Gilpin counties, announced May 3 that multiple charges have been filed against Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos, 23, in connection with the fiery crash of a truck he was driving on I-70 on April 25. The crash involved 28 vehicles and occurred on I-70 and Denver West Parkway, west of Denver.
Aguilera-Mederos has been charged with 40 counts, including four counts of Vehicular Homicide – Reckless; six counts of First Degree Assault; and 24 counts of Attempted First Degree Assault.
Aguilera-Mederos is alleged to have been traveling eastbound, driving a semi-tractor and trailer, when he lost control and crashed into traffic that was backed up from an earlier crash. Four people, all Colorado residents, died as a result of the crash: Doyle Harrison, 61, of Hudson; William Bailey, 67, of Arvada; Stanley Politano, 69, of Arvada; and Miguel Lamas Arrellano, 24, of Denver. Four other people were injured in the crash.
The investigation involved the Lakewood Police Department, West Metro Fire Protection District, the Arvada Police Department, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, Arvada Fire Department, the Colorado Department of Transportation, the Wheat Ridge Police Department, the Morrison Police Department, the Golden Police Department, and the Colorado State Patrol.
Aguilera-Mederos is to be formally advised of his charges on May 3. He is being held at the Jefferson County jail on a $400,000 bond.