An illegal immigrant who pleaded guilty to causing a fatal crash while driving a truck without a valid license is facing a significantly lighter sentence than is typical in similar cases involving truck drivers. Ignacio Cruz-Mendoza, who will be sentenced on Friday in Jefferson County, Colorado, faces a maximum of one year in jail and fines for his role in the accident that killed Scott Miller earlier this summer.
Scott Miller died when Cruz-Mendoza’s truck crashed into his car on Highway 285 near Bailey. His widow, Deann Miller, expressed her frustration with the sentence to 9 News: “I’m mad that I’m not going to get justice for my husband, mad because the most this man can get is a year for murdering my husband because the DA refused to charge him with more charges.”
She continued, “He should not have been behind the wheel of that truck, and he knew that, and he chose to do this.” Deann Miller also questioned the legal system’s handling of such cases, asking, “How many more people have to die on Colorado roads, on any road, before they start doing their job?”
Cruz-Mendoza was charged only with misdemeanor traffic violations, including one count of careless driving resulting in death and three counts of careless driving resulting in injury. He pleaded guilty to these charges in July during his arraignment, which prevented prosecutors from filing more serious charges as further evidence from crash investigators came to light.
Miller criticized the prosecutors’ actions, stating, “It makes me feel like they didn’t do their job. They’re not doing their job. Who else is going to get these rogue truck drivers and these rogue trucking companies off the road if not the people we put in charge to make us safe?”
The sentencing is notably lenient compared to other cases in the region. Earlier this year, a truck driver in a nearby county was sentenced to 16 years for a similar fatal crash. In a more severe case a few years ago, the same district attorney’s office in Jefferson County prosecuted a truck driver involved in a crash that killed four people on Interstate 70, resulting in a 110-year sentence, later reduced by the governor.
The District Attorney’s office informed the media that Monique Trucking, the company associated with the crash that killed Scott Miller, remains under investigation. The company reportedly has a history of violations, including allowing drivers on the road without proper licenses.