An illegal immigrant with multiple arrests who has left and re-entered the United States more than a dozen times has been accused of causing a crash in Colorado that left one person dead and two injured.
Just over a week earlier, Ignacio Cruz Mendoza, a 47-year-old Mexican national, had been driving a large tractor-trailer southbound on I-285, a two-lane highway in the Colorado mountains about 30 miles west of Denver. Witnesses later claimed he was going dangerously fast, possibly reaching speeds of up to 80 mph.
“He may have lost his life that day, but I feel like I lost mine too.”
At about 5 p.m., Cruz Mendoza was allegedly attempting to pass several vehicles when, in his panic, he side-slammed one of the vehicles and then lost control of his truck, which flipped over, sending pipes and angle iron falling onto five other vehicles.
Two people were injured in the accident, one of them seriously, and sadly a 64-year-old man also died in the accident. Scott Millera fellow truck driver and a loving husband, father and grandfather.
Interstate 285 was closed for more than 12 hours while investigators examined the scene. Cruz Mendoza claimed the truck’s brakes had failed, but evidence from skid marks indicated the brakes were still functioning to some extent.
Cruz-Mendoza was arrested at the scene and initially charged with multiple felonies, including assault by vehicle and homicide by vehicle, but the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office later reduced those charges to one count of careless driving causing death and three counts of careless driving causing injury, all misdemeanors.
The district attorney’s office argued that the current evidence does not support felony charges, and more charges could be added depending on the outcome of the Colorado State Police investigation.
Cruz Mendoza is being held in the Jefferson County Jail on $50,000 bail. Online jail records list his race as white.
A screenshot of Jefferson County Jail inmate records.
This isn’t Cruz Mendoza’s first arrest — in fact, he’s been a familiar face to ICE since his arrest in Oregon more than 20 years ago on drug trafficking-related charges — and he’s also been convicted at least once for speeding and driving without legal equipment.
Since 2002, he has been deported or voluntarily returned to Mexico at least 16 times, most recently on May 29. ICE has an immigration detention order against him in connection with the accident.
KDVR reported that Cruz-Mendoza is being represented by a public defender who does not comment on ongoing cases. His arraignment hearing is scheduled for July 31.
At the time of the crash, Cruz Mendoza was working for Monique Trucking but did not appear to have a commercial driver’s license. Monique Trucking has a history of driving violations, 9NEWS reported. Cruz Mendoza’s truck was last inspected four years ago.
Denver 7 The company did not appear to respond to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, Miller’s family is heartbroken that the man who allegedly killed him received reduced charges. “We just want the driver to be held accountable for his actions,” Miller’s daughter, Michelle Tusa, said. “He took my father’s life and severely injured someone else. I want him to make amends for what he did.”
“My husband and I have been together for 46 years,” said Miller’s widow, Dean Miller. “He may have lost his life that day, but I feel like I lost mine too.”
The family hopes Miller’s death will serve as a warning to other truck drivers to maintain safe speeds and follow safety rules, especially when driving in mountainous areas. “The safety of truck drivers operating very heavy trucks in mountainous areas was my father’s number one concern,” Tusa said of his father.
“If his death means anything, it will mean people will be more careful and truck driving as a profession will be more cautious.”
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