A petition has been signed by more than 3 million people calling on the governor of Colorado to commute the sentence of a truck driver who killed four people.
A Colorado judge sentenced a Texas man to over 100 years in prison on Monday after he was found guilty of 27 counts relating to a crash in April.
Vehicles had erupted into flames after the crash, according to NBC News. Several people were killed and many were injured in a school bus crash.
According to the NBC News report, the driver of the semitrailer collided with traffic that had been stopped due to a previous accident. At the time of the accident, the driver said his brakes failed because he was driving downhill.
The accident was not intentional nor was it a criminal act. Heather Gilbee created the petition three years ago, saying that no one but the trucking company he was employed by should be held accountable for the accident.
She said the petition was changed to focus on clemency after he was sentenced. The petition calls for 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476
According to multiple reports, Colorado Judge A. Bruce Jones said he wouldn't have applied the sentences concurrently if he had a choice. He said that the law required the sentences to be served one after another.
The Denver Post editorial board called for a commutation of his sentence.
The editorial said they were not intending to undermine the verdict from the jury.
The law does not allow jurors or the judge to make distinctions, so we think there is an important distinction. The young man was not drunk. He wasn't driving recklessly because he was running from police or in a hurry. He was not angry as his semi-truck accelerated down the freeway.
The Jefferson County District Attorney said she stood by her decision.
King said that the tragedy was devastating to the victims, their families and the entire community. The actions and decisions of the man resulted in the loss of four lives, devastating injuries to the survivors and grave impacts to their families and loved ones. We started plea negotiations, but Mr. Aguilera- Mederos refused to consider anything other than a traffic ticket.
A representative for Polis did not immediately return Insider's request for comment Saturday, but a spokesman for the governor told KSN that they are aware of the issue and that they review each clemency application individually.
The fastest-growing petition on Change.org this year was the one on the petition. Change.org said that more than 50,000 people signed the petition in one hour.
