Driver faces 40 counts after I-70 crash near Denver

Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-MederosRogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos

The 23-year-old truck driver involved in a crash on Interstate 70 near Denver last week was charged today with 40 separate criminal counts.

The Jefferson County district attorney formally charged Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos of Houston with four counts of vehicular homicide, six counts of first-degree assault, 24 counts of attempted first-degree assault, two counts of vehicular assault, one count reckless driving, and three counts crime of violence.

The charges were made in connection with the April 25 crash that involved 28 vehicles, including four other tractor-trailers. Four people were killed and four others injured.

Aguilera-Mederos was driving a flatbed loaded with lumber when it crashed into traffic stopped for an earlier accident in the eastbound lanes of I-to in Lakewood. He told police at the time of the crash that his brakes failed.

Killed in the crash were:

  • Doyle Harrison, 61, of Hudson, Colorado
  • William Bailey, 67, of Arvada, Colorado
  • Miguel Angel Lamas Arellano, 24, of Denver, Colorado
  • Stanley Politano, 69, of Arvada, Colorado