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October 21, 2021
JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 14 | LIFE: PAGE 16 | CALENDAR: PAGE 19 | SPORTS: PAGE 24
VOLUME 17 | ISSUE 18
Guilty verdicts in deadly I-70 trucker trial Jurors convict driver on 27 counts BY BOB WOOLEY BWOOLEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
and was put on by the city team, Arvada Chamber of Commerce, Olde Town Business Improvement District and the Arvada Resiliency Task Force. Arvada Mayor Pro Tem Dot Miller and Olde Town BID
It took jurors less than a day to convict Rogel Aguilera-Mederos on more than two dozen counts — including four counts of vehicular homicide — for causing a deadly crash that occurred April 25, 2019 on eastbound I-70 near Lakewood. Twenty-eight vehicles including four semi trucks were damaged in the accident that swiftly turned into an inferno. The day before closing arguments were made, Aguilera-Mederos had taken the stand in his own defense. A native Spanish speaker who emigrated from Cuba in 2015, he testified through an interpreter. Despite ongoing confusion during questioning, attorneys on both sides of the case were able to elicit answers from the defendant. In the end, jurors agreed with prosecutors that Aguilera-Mederos was responsible for the accident and should be held accountable. Aguilera-Mederos, who was just 23 at the time of the crash, blamed malfunctioning brakes for the accident. Admittedly inexperienced in mountain driving, he said he performed necessary steps like stopping to inspect his brakes before embarking on the final dangerous stretch of eastbound I-70 before the crash occurred. He had driven into Colorado from Saratoga Wyoming, traveling along Highway 40, where he had to traverse Berthoud Pass. Under direct examination, Aguilera-Mederos testified that once he’d made it beyond Berthoud Pass, he stopped to use the bathroom and inspect his brakes, making calls to more experienced drivers (his brother and his boss) to tell them he was on a dangerous
SEE COMPLETION, P8
SEE VERDICTS, P6
Pomona junior Emma Stutzman breaks away from the rest of the pack during the start of the Class 5A girls race at the Jeffco League cross country championships Oct. 14 at D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School. Stutzman won the 5A girls race by more than PHOTO BY DENNIS PLEUSS/JEFFCO PUBLIC SCHOOLS a minute.
Stutzman, Reeburgh shine at league championships Conifer team dominates Class 4A BY DENNIS PLEUSS JEFFCO PUBLIC SCHOOLS
DENVER — One of the best female distant runners in the state looked like a sprinter at the start the girls cross country Class 5A Jeffco League championship race. Pomona junior Emma Stutzman
didn’t waste any time in taking an early lead as she dashed down the slight downhill of westbound Nassau Ave. in front of D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School on Oct. 14. “I really wanted to take a fast mile out, kind of hang with it in the second mile and push myself in the third mile,” Stutzman said. “I was a little bit behind my goal time, but I essentially did what I wanted to do.” What Stutzman did was win
another individual conference title with a time of 17 minutes, 47.7 seconds. The junior was a full minute ahead of runner-up Chatfield sophomore Hannah Anderson. It was the largest margin of victory of the four individual varsity races. The weather was a little dicey before the race with a rain/snow mix. However, the skies cleared just before the start of the races. SEE LEAGUE, P31
Ribbon cutting celebrates completion of projects Ceremony held for semi-permanent street closure, phase one of Ralston Road project BY RYAN DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
To commemorate the competition of the Olde Town Arvada semi-permanent pedestrian area and the completion of Phase One of the Ralston Road Improvement
Project, the City of Arvada held the largest ribbon cutting in the city’s history, with more than 150 people holding a 2,000 foot ribbon that encircled Grandview Avenue and Olde Wadsworth Boulevard on Oct. 15. The ceremony began at 4 p.m.