The widow of a man who was tragically killed in the 2019 Colorado truck crash has spoken out about outside opinions impacting the case.
Doyle Harrison, 61, was one of four people killed in April 2019 after Rogel Aguilera-Mederos lost control of his truck and crashed into several cars as he was driving eastbound on the I-70 in Lakewood.
As well as Harrison, 24-year-old Miguel Angel Lamas Arellano, 67-year-old William Bailey, and 69-year-old Stanley Politano all lost their lives.
Per CBS Denver, Aguilera-Mederos says he lost control when the brakes of his truck failed, and during his trial, he said that he did his best to avoid other vehicles and that he "cries all the time" when remembering the incident. Prosecutors argued that the driver made a series of poor decisions, such as potentially missing a runaway truck ramp along the highway.
Earlier this month, the 26-year-old Texas truck driver was found guilty of 27 charges related to the incident, including four counts of vehicular homicide. Despite receiving all the minimum sentences, Colorado state law requires that all of Aguilera-Mederos' sentences must be served consecutively, and he was sentenced to a total of 110 years in prison.
The substantially lengthy sentence led to an outcry from many people, with more than 4.8 million people signing a petition asking for Colorado Governor Jared Polis to grant clemency to Aguilera-Mederos or commutation for time served.
Additionally, celebrities such as Kim Kardashian West voiced their opinions on the case.
In a series of tweets, law student Kardashian wrote the following: "I know everyone has been posting about Rogel Aguilera-Mederos this week. I took a deep dive in it to figure out what the situation is.
"For those who don’t know about this case, Rogel Aguilera-Mederos is a 26 year old that was sentenced 110 years in prison for driving a semi-tractor-trailer and crashed into traffic killing four people.
"He was not drunk or under the influence, his brakes on the semi tractor-trailer failed.
"Another shocking and unfair part of this case is that the judge didn’t want to sentence him to such a lengthy sentence. However, because of the mandatory minimums in Colorado, his hands were tied. Mandatory minimums take away judicial discretion and need to end.
"Colorado law really has to be changed and this is so unfair."
Kardashian then tweeted Polis directly, describing him as "a really good person", before adding: "I know he will do the right thing."
In an apparent response to celebrities voicing their opinions on the case, Kathleen Harrison - widow of Doyle Harrison - told TMZ: "I don’t think that we want our local proceedings in any state taken over by who has the loudest mouth out there, because people don't know all the details, they are running on emotion."
Kathleen also told the outlet that she does believe the 100+ year sentence is harsh, and suggested that 20 years be more appropriate.
NBC News has since reported that Colorado district attorney Alexis King has filed a motion for a hearing to reconsider the sentence under the state's mandatory minimum law.
A spokesperson for Governor Polis told CBS News: "The Governor and his team review each clemency application individually."
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