Who is Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos' wife? Petition to free trucker reaches 4.5M signs
After several truckers boycotted Colorado protesting the 110-year sentence of fellow truck driver Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos, an online petition demanding clemency for him has surpassed over 4.5 million signatures. Rogel, a former truck driver who happens to be an immigrant from Cuba, was found guilty of vehicular murder of four people. In April 2019, he had caused a catastrophic vehicular pileup on Interstate 70 that killed four and wounded six more. On December 13, District Court Judge Bruce Jones ordered a sentence of 110 years against Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, 26, after determining that it was the statutory minimum time set forth by state law.
Prosecutors stated that as his vehicle barreled down from the mountains, he might have utilized one of many runaway ramps. The chain-reaction crash caused gas tanks to explode, igniting flames that burned multiple vehicles and melted sections of the roadway. Miguel Angel Lamas Arellano, 24, William Bailey, 67, Doyle Harrison, 61, and Stanley Politano, 69, lost their lives that day. However, the highway truck driver fraternity is protesting Rogel's sentence, stating that it was too harsh with respect to his crime. In particular, Rogel ended up hitting people in that deadly crash only after his brakes failed. Rogel, the father of two, is being constantly supported by his wife Nailan Gonzalez, who managed to fundraise $20,000 for his legal fees.
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Nailan Gonzalez, a Cuban immigrant herself, is presently a resident of Houston, Texas. She is believed to be somewhere between 20 to 25 years old, though further details about her personal life are unknown. Nailan Gonzalez and Rogel Mederos have been married for quite a few years now and are also proud parents of two children.
Nailan appears to be quite vocal and proactive in helping her husband get justice. She often petitions in favor of his clemency and recently shared an emotional message from jail on Rogel's behalf.
Meanwhile, Colorado resident Heather Gilbee started an online petition for Rogel Mederos on Change.Org to seek justice for him. Addressed to Jefferson County Courts and prosecutor Jared Polis, the petition demands - "Offer commutation as time served, or grant clemency to Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos, 23."
The petition reads, "We all know of the crash that happened on I-70 in Denver, Colorado. Most of us have heard facts in the case. Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos, 23 has nothing on his driving record, or on his criminal history. He had complied with every single request by the Jefferson County courts, and investigators on the case. He's passed all of the drug and alcohol tests that were given including a chemical test."
"This accident was not intentional, nor was it a criminal act on the driver's part. No one but the trucking company he is/was employed by should be held accountable for this accident. No, we are not trying to make it seem any less of a tragic accident that it is because yes, lives were lost. We are trying to hold the person who needs to be held responsible, responsible. The trucking company has had several inspections since 2017, with several mechanical violations," it adds.
"There are many things Rogel could have done to avoid the courts, but he took responsibility showed up and severely apologized to the victims families. Some of the families even offered Forgiveness. Rogel is not a criminal, the company he was working for knew the federal laws that go into truck driving but they failed to follow those laws. 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 wasnt a criminal act, it was an accident. Since he has been sentenced, i have changed this to granting Rogel clemency or commutation-as time served," Gilbee mentions further.