Fiery Truck Crash: Houston Truck Driver Faces Charges Of Homicide

UPDATE 4:20 p.m. Friday — Authorities said four people died Thursday afternoon in a massive collision and fire on Interstate 70 when a flatbed tractor-trailer plowed into passenger vehicles stalled under the Denver West Parkway overpass. The Lakewood police announced Friday that they charged the driver of the tractor-trailer, Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos, 23, on four counts of vehicular homicide.

Aguilera-Mederos, a resident of Houston, Texas, i‪s due in court Saturday for an advisement hearing, KUSA-TV 9NEWS reported. A Lakewood police spokesman said no drugs or alcohol were involved in the accident.

Following the crash, Aguilera-Mederos was taken to a local hospital for treatment, according to media reports. A spokesperson for St. Anthony Hospital told 9NEWS that the hospital treated 10 patients with injuries related to the crash. One man remained in the hospital in good condition.

All lanes of I-70 in both directions, between 6th Avenue near Golden and Denver West Parkway in Lakewood, were reopened Friday, the Colorado Department of Transportation announced.

Overpass Is Intact: CDOT

A CDOT official told 9NEWS that crews assessed the Denver West Parkway bridge over I-70 and determined it's in good shape, despite the blaze Thursday underneath the overpass. About two dozen vehicles caught fire in the accident, which occurred at 4:50 p.m., and burned through the night, creating a massive plume of black smoke and melting parts of the highway.

The CDOT official also told 9NEWS that crews would assess the damage to the asphalt on the highway, make repairs and repave the road.

How It Happened

According to media accounts, the flatbed rig driven by Aguilera-Mederos came down a hill Thursday afternoon on I-70 near Golden and sped toward the Denver West area. It was carrying a load of lumber.

The traffic on eastbound I-70 in Denver West was at a standstill due to rush hour and another accident several miles to the northeast, said Ty Countryman, a spokesman for the Lakewood Police Department.

The flatbed collided with the other vehicles, and at some point, one vehicle ignited and the fire spread, creating an inferno of flaming cars, SUVs and 18-wheelers.

Diesel fuel that spilled from another tractor-trailer spread the flames, along with the lumber from the flatbed truck, a CDOT spokeswoman said.

Countryman said the Lakewood police are working to determine whether the brakes failed on the flatbed or whether it had another mechanical problem, CNN reported. Even if a mechanical issue is involved, he said, he believes the vehicular manslaughter charges would stick.

The Lakewood police have set up a tip line for Thursday's crash. If you have information, were a witness, have video footage or have questions, please call 303-763-6800.

UPDATE 10:50 a.m. Friday — The driver of a tractor-trailer rig that crashed into vehicles stalled on Interstate 70 in the Denver West area will be charged with multiple counts of vehicular homicide, a Lakewood police spokesman said Friday morning. The spokesman, Ty Countryman, said that police and fire officials had not yet determined the number of people who died in Thursday afternoon's fiery crash.

Interstate 70 in both directions will be closed between 6th Avenue and Denver West Parkway in Lakewood until Saturday while authorities investigate the accident, according to media reports.

Countryman said the accident, which occurred at 4:50 p.m. Thursday, involved 28 vehicles, including 24 passenger vehicles and four tractor-trailer rigs. He said six people were taken to the hospital, including the driver of the rig that caused the accident, a flatbed semi carrying lumber.

The other vehicles were stalled in afternoon rush-hour traffic, caused in part by another accident about three and a half miles to the northeast on I-70, KUSA-TV 9NEWS reported.

The flatbed driver was treated for his injuries, interviewed by police and taken into custody, Countryman said. He said drugs or alcohol did not play a role in the crash.

The driver was identified by 9NEWS as Rogel Lazaro Aguilera, and police said he is not from Colorado. He was being held Friday in the Jefferson County Jail.

LAKEWOOD, CO — Firefighters were dousing a blaze Thursday night on Interstate 70 that began hours earlier when a tractor-trailer slammed into vehicles backed up under an overpass in the Denver West area, according to media reports. Several people died in the fiery accident and six others were injured, though authorities did not know the exact number of fatalities as of 10 p.m., KUSA-TV 9NEWS reported.

Investigators could not get onto the highway Thursday night until the firefighters extinguished all of the "hot spots" from the blaze, 9NEWS reported.

The collision, which occurred shortly before 5 p.m., caused a huge fire on eastbound I-70 that engulfed cars and several 18-wheelers, images that were caught by TV news helicopters flying overhead. It brought traffic on I-70 to a standstill at the height of rush hour, creating a giant pillar of black smoke that could be seen throughout the west side of the Denver metro area.

Witnesses told 9NEWS that the tractor-trailer's collision with the other vehicles caused a loud boom that rattled nearby buildings.

Twitter user @DrewSidener shared a video from a car stopped in traffic recording when the truck drove by quite fast. The video below contains an expletive.

The Colorado Department of Transportation said that eastbound I-70 would be closed between West Colfax Avenue and the Denver West area at least overnight, as investigators comb through the wreckage, 9NEWS reported.

A CDOT spokeswoman said engineers with the department will assess damage to the highway after the accident debris is cleaned up.

The Lakewood Police Department said the fire heavily damaged the overpass, which carries Denver West Parkway over I-70. The bridge was closed Thursday night, 9NEWS reported. It serves traffic around the Colorado Mills outlet mall and the Denver West Village shopping center.

Ty Countryman, a spokesman for the Lakewood Police Department, said three semis and 12 cars were involved in the accident. It brought police cars and fire trucks from multiple agencies to the scene, he said, including the Lakewood police, the Colorado State Patrol, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and West Metro Fire.

One West Metro firefighter suffered minor injuries in battling the blaze when he was hit by debris, possibly from an exploding tire, the agency said.