Yesterday, a truck driver accused of causing a massive fiery pileup that killed 4 people appeared in court — and his legal team tried to place the blame for the crash on another truck driver.
On Thursday, July 11, 23 year old truck driver Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos appeared in Jefferson County Court in Colorado for a preliminary hearing on his role in a fatal chain reaction crash that happened in slowed traffic on I-70 near Lakewood, Colorado, on April 25.
I-70 truck crash suspect Rogel Aguilera-Medeiros walks into court for his preliminary hearing with his defense attorney Rob Corry, who himself faces legal trouble after a pair of recent arrests. #kdvr pic.twitter.com/kJEJWQNO0p
— Rob Low (@RobLowTV) July 11, 2019
The crash ultimately involved 24 passenger vehicles and four semi trucks. Four people were killed and two others were seriously injured. Aguilera-Mederos faces 41 charges, including vehicular homicide.
Police have accused Aguilera-Mederos of driving more than 85 m.p.h. on a stretch of mountainous interstate where trucks are limited to 45 m.p.h.
During the hearing, Aguilera-Mederos’s legal team tried to blame the crash on faulty brakes, but they also tried to lay the blame on another truck driver.
Rob Corry, attorney for Aguilera-Mederos, said that a trucker parked along the shoulder on I-70 was actually to blame for the crash. According to CBS Denver, he said:
“He’s a truck driver. He parked his semi on the shoulder of the road, thereby blocking the safe route through this stop-and-go accident and really was the proximate cause of the accident but is not charged with any traffic offense and it’s illegal to park on the shoulder.”
Another major revelation that came out as part of Aguilera-Mederos’s court appearance was that he had travelled on the I-70 route where the crash occurred three times before.
Following the hearing, Aguilera-Mederos was ordered to stand trial.
The judge did, however, grant a request that would allow Aguilera-Mederos to leave the state. Aguilera-Mederos, who lives in Texas, remains free on bond.
A motorist captured video of Aguilera-Mederos moments before the pileup. You can view the video below.
Officials confirmed that this video, which shows a semi driver swerving across lanes and passing a runaway truck ramp on I-70, is Aguilera-Mederos prior to last week’s crash.https://t.co/7T6Wg57Ybf pic.twitter.com/Sdk6rhKQVV
— Denver7 News (@DenverChannel) May 3, 2019