Jeffco Transcript 121621

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December 16, 2021

JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO

A publication of

JeffcoTranscript.com

VOLUME 38 | ISSUE 21

Driver gets 110-year sentence for causing deadly I-70 crash Judge’s orders dictated by state law BY BOB WOOLEY BWOOLEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

The Olde Golden Holiday Parade returned in 2021 after being cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions. PHOTOS BY BOB WOOLEY

Olde Golden Holiday Parade returns

Crowds line the route to celebrate the season BY BOB WOOLEY BWOOLEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

The Olde Golden Holiday Parade rolled down Washington Avenue on Dec. 11, much to the delight of a crowd that didn’t have the opportunity to see the parade during last year’s pandemic-canceled season. An enthusiastic crowd lined both sides of Washington Avenue to see clowns, dancers, princesses, unicyclists, cute kids, musicians, classic cars, Star Wars characters, plenty of dogs, people dressed as chickens and the big guy himself: Santa Claus. SEE MORE PARADE PHOTOS ON PAGE 2

Kids of all ages welcome Santa Claus during the Olde Golden Holiday Parade.

INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 14 | LIFE: PAGE 16 | CALENDAR: PAGE 19 | SPORTS: PAGE 24

Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos, 26, convicted in October of four counts of vehicular homicide and numerous other charges, was sentenced Dec. 13 to a mandatory 110 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections. Aguilera-Mederos was the driver of a semi-truck that crashed into multiple cars on eastbound I-70 on April 25, 2019, killing four people and injuring several others. The impact of the crash caused a fiery inferno that made national headlines. During his trial, AguileraAguilera-Mederos claimed Mederos the brakes on his truck had failed and he was unable to avoid the wreck. However, prosecutors in the case pointed out several instances where Aguilera-Mederos’ actions led directly to the accident. As he handed down the sentence, Judge A. Bruce Jones said the state legislature required him to order Aguilera-Mederos to serve the time consecutively. Aguilera-Mederos was convicted of six counts of First-Degree Assault with Extreme Indifference that carried a mandatory sentence of 10-30 years each. Jones sentenced Aguilera-Mederos to the required 10year minimum for each count. He was also given mandatory minimum sentences of 5 years each for 10 additional counts that must also be served consecutively, thus adding up to the 110-year sentence. Eleven other counts Aguilera-Mederos was convicted of, totaling 30 years, will be served concurrently. As the hearing concluded, Jones advised Aguilera-Mederos of his right to appeal the verdict and sentence.

REIMAGINING ‘NUTCRACKER’ Colorado Ballet’s production gets new garb P16


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