The driver in the fatal crash on US 285 in Aspen Park did not have a valid driver’s license

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.