If you’re a frequent user of the short-form video platform TikTok, you might’ve noticed a growing trend. #NoTruckstoColorado is a trending hashtag and movement within the trucker community. Deciphering that semi-truck drivers aren’t going to Colorado is easy. However, what’s keeping them away from the mile-high state? Here’s why #NoTruckstoColorado is trending on TikTok.
Why is #NoTruckstoColorado trending on TikTok?
I-70 crash suspect in custody. Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos (DOB: 11/21/95) arrested for suspicion of multiple counts of Vehicular Homicide. pic.twitter.com/ieUrU2IMoK
— Lakewood Police Dept. (@LakewoodPDCO) April 26, 2019
No trucks to Colorado is a trend that began a few months ago but started gaining traction again recently. In short, the purpose is to boycott truckers working in and out of Colorado because of a fellow truck driver’s life-altering problem. Rogel Aguilera-Mederos is a semi-truck driver sentenced to 110 years in Colorado prison following an accident resulting in four deaths. Millions of people support Mederos, and the purpose of the TikTok trend is to free him.
Presently, a petition drive is urging the governor of Colorado to grant Mederos a sentence commutation or pardon. According to Heavy, Mederos was 23 at the time of the crash, and the petition gained 4.2 million signatures as of December 19, 2021. You might be wondering why so many people would want to free someone who crashed a semi-truck and killed four people. There’s a lot more to the story.
Why are people boycotting Colorado for Rogel Aguilera-Mederos’ freedom?
Firstly, Mederos has nothing on his driving record and no criminal history. Additionally, the petition states that Rogel has complied with every request by Jefferson County courts. Next, he passed every drug and alcohol test the state required. Most importantly, the accident was in no way intentional, let alone a criminal act. Finally, the trucking company is responsible for the incident due to improper maintenance.
If you didn’t know, Mederos’ truck’s brakes stopped working as he came out of the Rocky Mountains. When the driver couldn’t stop the vehicle, it caused a 28-vehicle crash. Four people died, and six became wounded because of the crash. In short, a man was sentenced to 110 years in prison because his brakes gave out on I-70 in Denver, Colorado.
#NoTruckstoColorado on all social media platforms
No trucks going into Colorado over the trucker who caused an accident killing 4 and was sentenced to 110 years in prison for manslaughter. pic.twitter.com/P7DoP96OrI
— caliborn858 (@caliborn858) December 16, 2021
According to Heavy, the hashtag is trending on TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook. Under the hashtag, users will find a list of people who refuse to drive trucks through Colorado until Mederos is free. One trucker indicated he wouldn’t travel through Colorado for the next 110 years, the same length as Medero’s prison sentence. Additionally, some truckers said they’re afraid to drive through Colorado now. Causing an accident due to brake failure could earn them a lifelong prison sentence for something out of their control.
“No, we are not trying to make it seem any less of a tragic accident than it is because yes, lives were lost. We are trying to hold the person who needs to be held responsible, responsible. The trucking company has had several inspections since 2017, with several mechanical violations,” the petition states.
According to the Denver Channel, the judge sentenced Mederos on December 13, 2021. Moreover, the jury found him guilty on many counts, including vehicular homicide, first-degree assault, attempted first-degree assault, vehicular assault, reckless driving, and careless driving.
Domingo Garcia, the national president of a Latino civil rights organization, spoke to the Denver Channel: “This case is so egregious, it boggles the mind that here we are in 2021 and that somebody who was not intoxicated, not on drugs. It’s an accident, the brakes went out. But here’s the Latino driver, he gets charged, convicted, and given 110 years of prison on his first offense.”
The judge can review Rogel Aguilera-Mederos’ sentence soon
Semi-trucks lined up | Gareth Fuller/PA Images via Getty Images
According to 9News Legal Expert Scott Robinson, the judge can review the verdict soon.
“Colorado’s violent crimes statute gives judges some discretion after 180 days have passed. Here, the sentencing judge, Bruce Jones, will have an opportunity to determine whether there were unusual and extenuating circumstances which would justify a reduction in the sentences imposed.”
It seems evident that there are unusual and extenuating circumstances surrounding this case. Subsequently, truck drivers from all over the country agree that the sentence requires a reduction. Millions of signatures on the petition and posts under this trending TikTok hashtag make that obvious. Will the judge take the opportunity to significantly reduce the sentence this made received for an accidental crash?
#NoTruckstoColorado TikTok trend
If you’re on TikTok, or almost any other social media platform, check out the #NoTruckstoColorado hashtag. You’ll find messages, videos, and more supporting the truck driver. Seeing truck drivers come together to support a fellow worker is heartwarming, to say the least. A man is in prison for 110 years because his brakes failed while driving. Truck drivers won’t work in Colorado until Rogel Aguilera-Mederos is free. That’s what the #NoTruckstoColorado TikTok trend is all about.
Keyword: #NoTruckstoColorado TikTok Trend Explained