DENVER — A tractor-trailer driver who allegedly caused a fatality accident along U.S. 285 on June 11 in Colorado faces four misdemeanor charges after a June 18 court appearance.
Ignacio Cruz-Mendoza, 47, was in the United States illegally at the time of the wreck and had already been deported back to Mexico more than a dozen times, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has said.
Initially, he was arrested for vehicular homicide, a felony; however, the district attorney’s office said it is not pursuing more serious charges against Cruz-Mendoza based on the evidence they have at this time.
Prosecutors could file more charges after the Colorado State Patrol (CSP) finishes its investigation.
His June 18 charges — all misdemeanors — include:
- One count of careless driving resulting in death
- Three counts of careless driving resulting in injury
ICE officials said he was arrested and deported 16 times, beginning in 2002. He was also charged for driving a big rig without a commercial driver’s license.
Police say Cruz-Mendoza drove his southbound 18-wheeler off the edge of the road on June 11, causing it to roll onto its side and dump a load of pipes and angle iron onto five vehicles. According to the CSP, speed was a likely factor in the accident.
One person died at the scene, while another was seriously injured, the CSP reported.
Cruz-Mendoza told police he lost his brakes before the crash, but troopers noted skip skid marks on the road before the crash site, police said.
Mendoza was driving for a company called Monique Trucking LLC at the time of the crash.
He was arrested two days after the crash.
Monique Trucking officials have not commented on the issue. Investigators reported that the trucking company has a history of ELD violations and hiring unlicensed drivers
Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and raised in East Texas, John Worthen returned to his home state to attend college in 1998 and decided to make his life in The Natural State. Worthen is a 20-year veteran of the journalism industry and has covered just about every topic there is. He has a passion for writing and telling stories. He has worked as a beat reporter and bureau chief for a statewide newspaper and as managing editor of a regional newspaper in Arkansas. Additionally, Worthen has been a prolific freelance journalist for two decades, and has been published in several travel magazines and on travel websites.
How are these companies that hire someone without a CDL not being shut down?
The Law in Colorado won’t prosecute many illegal aliens, even if a person dies as a result of their negligence and has been sent back to Mexico a dozen times. Probably doing nothing to Monique Trucking Co. either for them hiring an illegal driver. Our United States is being bombarded with illegals and it is totally changing the landscape of our country. It’s so sad to see that nobody in the Federal Gov’t can seem to get this problem solved. What’s going to happen is the American people themselves will have to take care of the problem because Gov’t does absolutely nothing about it except make things worse than they have to be ! Additinally, sounds like, unfurtunately, some western states such as Colorado have are not what they once were and they’ve lost their way
The fact that he returned after being deported 16 times (felonies), driving without a CDL, killing people on our roads and this is the best the DA can do? Really? I know there are two people running for the DA slot in November. Both Democrats. A good, tough Republican Prosecutor never has a chance in Denver any more. Both of those candidates sound pretty wishy-washy on actually putting people who break the law in jail in their ads. You get what you vote for Colorado. And all of us are less safe because of it.