TRUCK driver Rogel Aguilera-Mederos could be freed as Kim Kardashian and millions of others are begging the governor of Colorado for clemency.
Kim Kardashian took to Twitter this week to share her knowledge of Rogel Aguilera-Mederos — a truck driver who pled guilty of causing a fiery 28-car pileup on a Colorado highway — and for Governor Jared Polis to free the 26-year-old.
The American socialite wrote in a series of tweets: "For those who don’t know about this case, Rogel Aguilera-Mederos is a 26 year old that was sentenced 110 years in prison for driving a semi-tractor-trailer and crashed into traffic killing four people.
"He was not drunk or under the influence, his brakes on the semi tractor-trailer failed.
"Another shocking and unfair part of this case is that the judge didn’t want to sentence him to such a lengthy sentence.
"However, because of the mandatory minimums in Colorado, his hands were tied. Mandatory minimums take away judicial discretion and need to end."
She concluded by pushing for a change in Colorado law due to the "unfair" case.
Rogel Aguilera-Mederos was found guilty in October for dangerously driving a vehicle that led to four deaths.
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And although he was sentenced to 110 years in prison, some believe that's too high.
Millions sign petition
Meanwhile, millions of people in support of the truck driver have signed a petition to free or lower his sentence.
The Change.org petition has so far been signed by over 4.5 million people asking for Aguilera-Mederos' sentence to be lowered, commuted for time served, or for clemency to be granted.
According to the website, it became the top signed petition in the site's history, and that occurred thanks in part to an organized effort by truck drivers.
Truckers all over the country are threatening to stop moving goods to and from Colorado because of the sentence, and are gaining traction using such social media hashtags as #NoTrucksColorado and #DontDriveColorado.
The petition, titled "Offer commutation as time served, or grant clemency to Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos, 23," was created by a woman who claims to have no relations to him but was just a supporter.
"I made this petition because I am a native to Colorado, who believes this man is NOT a criminal and this was purely an accident," she wrote on Dec. 15. "I'm not related to Rogel, or any of his family, I simply believe that he doesn't deserve his sentence or these charges."
The petition goes on to say, "Rogel has said several times that he wishes he had the courage to crash and take his own life that day, this tragic accident wasn't done with Intent, it wasn't a criminal act, it was an accident."
According to The Guardian, Domingo Garcia, League of United Latin American Citizens President, said called the recent sentencing "a stark miscarriage of justice.
He continued: "Here’s a man with no prior criminal record who went to work to feed his family. The brakes go out on his truck. It was a terrible accident."
Clemency application
As many are pushing for Aguila-Mederos to be freed, Gov Polis confirmed in a Tuesday news conference that a clemency application for the sentenced truck driver was submitted to his office, KDVR reports.
Speaking to a Spanish-language news outlet, Polis said in Spanish: "We just received the application yesterday evening from his attorney and my legal team is reviewing it right now.
"When we have a decision, we will announce it."
Additionally, a motion was filed for the court to hear a reconsideration by the First Judicial District attorney.
'Negligence'
However, not everyone is in support of freeing Aguilera-Mederos.
One Twitter user replied to Kardashian: "That wreck was caused do to his negligence.
"Four people who has loved ones are in pain… it's so disrespectful to the families that people are really trying to get him out and most the people on the Internet trying to play captain save him didn't even watch the case.
Another wrote: "Just by his age alone I know he lacks experience and he panicked when the brakes give out on him on the incline, after he lost control of the situation he was in.
"His mind was in a disarray and didn't know what to do."
A third Twitter user replied: "No I can’t take your side on this."
"It’s a difficult case and I do agree that mandatory minimums needy to be abolished," read another tweet replying to Kardashian. "However, I do think he should be punished to some extent…he was reckless, speeding and people lost their lives!"
'Brakes failed'
Aguilera-Mederos' was driving a semi tractor-trailer at 85 mph when his brakes failed, he told investigators in April 2019.
He tried to pull over to the shoulder to avoid stopped traffic on the highway, but another semi had already pulled over, his arrest affidavit said.
Aguilera-Mederos' truck resulted in a 28-car pileup that left four people dead on the Colorado highway.
He was found guilty in October and was convicted on vehicular homicide and 23 other charges, and was sentenced last week.
The 23 other charges included six counts of assault in the first degree, under extreme indifference, and 10 counts of attempt to commit assault in the first degree, again under extreme indifference.
He also had two counts of reckless vehicular assault, one count of reckless driving, and four counts of careless driving causing death.
Experts said because Colorado did away with its death penalty, life in prison is the harshest punishment allowed.
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