Driver in deadly US 285 crash near Conifer pleads guilty

DENVER (KDVR) — A semitruck driver who was facing charges of vehicular homicide and assault pleaded guilty to lesser charges of careless driving on Wednesday.

Ignacio Cruz-Mendoza, 47, was arraigned Wednesday in Jefferson County District Court on charges of careless driving resulting in death and three counts of careless driving resulting in injury.

The Colorado State Patrol said Cruz-Mendoza was traveling southbound on U.S. 285 near Conifer around rush hour on June 11 when he side-swiped five vehicles while trying to pass them. The truck ended up jack-knifed on the highway, spilling its load of pipe and angle iron, closing the highway for over 14 hours and killing a man.

That man was identified as Scott Miller, 64, whose family has said they wanted Cruz-Mendoza to face more accountability for his actions.

“He took my father’s life and he seriously injured someone else,” Miller’s daughter, Michelle Tusa, previously told FOX31 . “And I want him to face what he did.”

An arrest affidavit shows that Cruz-Mendoza told troopers that his brakes went out, but investigators who measured the skids found the truck’s brakes were working, but well below the minimum requirements.

Additionally, investigators found that the truck had not been inspected since 2020, and Cruz-Mendoza was convicted of speeding and operating without lawfully required equipment in 2022. Investigators also found that Cruz-Mendoza had been ordered to return to Mexico 16 times since 2002.

He is being held on a $50,000 cash or surety bond. Because of the previous orders to leave the country, Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed a detainer on him, which means that if he is released, federal agents will take him into their custody.

Cruz-Mendoza is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 30.

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