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The driver in the fatal crash on US 285 in Aspen Park did not have a valid driver’s license
![The driver in the fatal crash on US 285 in Aspen Park did not have a valid driver's license](https://blogaid.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/The-driver-in-the-fatal-crash-on-US-285-in.jpg)
The driver of a tractor-trailer arrested June 11 in connection with a fatal six-vehicle crash on U.S. 285 did not have a valid driver’s license at the time of the crash, state police said.
Ignacio Cruz Mendoza, a 47-year-old from Mexico, had an active file in the Commercial Driver’s License Information System that state troopers used to identify him, but he did not have a valid U.S. or commercial driver’s license at the time of the crash, Patrick says Rice, spokesman for the Colorado State Patrol.
Rice said Mendoza also did not have a valid driver’s license from Mexico.
Nevertheless, the man continued driving Monique Trucksan interstate shipping company based in Indio, California, Rice said.
According to her, Monique Trucking is a general freight company company safety records.
Mendoza is a Mexican citizen who is illegally in the United States and has been deported or voluntarily left the country 16 times since 2002. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officers said.
According to his arrest affidavit, Mendoza was previously convicted in 2022 of speeding and operating without legally required equipment in Pennsylvania.
When he was arrested, a U.S. driver’s license was created in CDLIS showing his commercial licensing status as “eligible” for Mexico, but he does not have an active commercial license in either the United States or Mexico, Rice said.
Drivers who do not have U.S. citizenship can drive for companies in the United States with a commercial driver’s license from Mexico or Canada, This was reported by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
According to the arrest affidavit, Mendoza was arrested on June 11 on suspicion of vehicular homicide, vehicular assault, reckless driving and operating a commercial vehicle without a commercial driver’s license.
According to court records, Mendoza was charged on June 18 with one count of careless driving causing death and three counts of careless driving causing injury.
ICE agents from the Office of Engagement and Removal Operations reviewed Mendoza’s arrest information with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and submitted a detainer request for notice of his release, according to a statement from immigration officials.
His next hearing is scheduled for July 31. Until then, Mendoza remains in the Jefferson County Jail on $50,000 bail.
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