Semi-truck driver from deadly Hwy. 285 crash in June sentenced to 1 year in jail

The semi-truck driver responsible for a deadly crash in June on Highway 285 just outside Conifer will spend roughly a year in jail.

Ignacio Cruz-Mendoza was sentenced Friday in Jefferson County Court after he pleaded guilty to one count of careless driving resulting in death and three counts of careless driving resulting in injury.

His sentence was for 364 days. He’s already served 81 days in jail.

The crash occurred just after 5 p.m. on June 11 when Cruz-Mendoza drove off the road, causing the semi-truck he was driving to roll over, dumping its load of pipes and angle iron onto vehicles, according to reports from the Colorado State Patrol (CSP).

Scott Miller, 64, was killed in the crash. He was driving home from the grocery store and was less than six miles from his home at the time of the accident.

“We should still be together,” Miller’s widow, DeAnn, said. “This should have never happened. He should still be alive.”

After the crash, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials told Denver7 Investigates that Cruz-Mendoza was in the U.S. illegally and had been ordered to be removed to Mexico. The officials said the suspect had been on ICE’s radar since 2002 and had been returned to Mexico more than a dozen times.

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Semi driver in 285 fatal crash was in U.S. illegally, has long history with ICE

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It was also later discovered that he did not have a commercial driver’s license.

Cruz-Mendoza was driving for California-based Monique Trucking. After an investigation into the company, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ordered the company cease all interstate and intrastate operations on July 2.

“This was no accident,” DeAnn Miller said. “Accidents are when a tire blows out or a deer runs across the road. He deliberately got in that truck. Monique Trucking Company deliberately put this man behind the wheel of a truck.”

Prosecutors said Cruz-Mendoza’s brakes were not working properly and he did not shift into the correct gear leading up to the crash. Despite this, Cruz-Mendoza only faced misdemeanor charges.

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In a statement, the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office told Denver7 Investigates, “Colorado State Patrol did not provide information to support additional charges here.”

State Patrol troopers responded by stating that Cruz-Mendoza was arrested on vehicular homicide, “but the evidence supported careless driving, resulting in a plea.”

“Now my husband is dead because of it. And I'm told that the most they can do is a misdemeanor,” DeAnn Miller said. “There should have been vehicular homicide, it should not be a misdemeanor.”

Judge Kristan Wheeler agreed, saying she would have given a longer sentence if she could.

“My preference would be to sentence you individually for your actions and the injuries that occurred for each victim,” she said. “But that's not what the law permits, and I'm bound to follow the law.”

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