A family says their ‘prayers have been answered’ after finding out the truck driver involved in a wreck that killed five of their family members has been charged with five felonies.
The wreck happened nearly six months ago on Interstate 25 in Weld County, Colorado. The truck driver, 26-year-old Jesus Puebla, was arrested on Thursday, December 8th.
9 News reports that Puebla was driving without a valid CDL when he slammed into the back of the family’s car at 75 mph in slowed traffic. The wreck killed Halie Everts and Aaron Godinez, their daughter Tessleigh, and both of Aaron’s parents, Christina and Emiliano.
After the tragic accident, the remaining family waited six months to see if Puebla would be charged, and they say that they are now happy he will be held responsible for his actions.
“Our prayers are finally starting to be answered,” said Desiree Everts, whose daughter and granddaughter were killed in the June crash. “He’s finally starting to be accountable for his actions. I’m very happy.”
Puebla is facing five counts of vehicular homicide – one for each person killed in the wreck.
“We had information and evidence that he did not possess a valid commercial driver’s license,” said DA Michael Rourke.
“We had information that there may have been safety violations on the semi-truck that he was driving at the time that he should have been aware of.”
The truck is owned by Caminantes Trucking based in California. The company has been involved in multiple deadly crashes over the last two years, and has a history of allowing drivers to hit the road without proper licenses.
Investigators still aren’t sure why Puebla did not hit the brakes before crashing into the car, but they say he was not on his phone at the time of the wreck.
“I’m just glad it finally has taken a turn and he’s being held accountable for what he deserves,” Everts’ son Haden Everts said.
“There’s some relief off our shoulders and we’re able to sleep a little bit better,” Everts said. “But I mean, nothing is going to bring them back, and we miss them terribly. It’s finally starting to go in a direction that it should.”
“Great souls lost way too soon. Half our family is gone. It’s just not fair,” Desiree Everts added. “They deserve justice. All five of them didn’t deserve any of this.”