The driver of a semi truck who was arrested in connection to a fatal crash on US 285 last week was in the U.S. illegally and had been ordered to be removed to Mexico less than two weeks before the crash, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told Denver7 Investigates.
Ignacio Cruz-Mendoza, 47, was driving a semi involved in a fatal crash on US 285 near Conifer last Tuesday, June 11. Colorado State Patrol announced his arrest two days later on charges of vehicular assault and vehicular homicide.
An ICE spokesperson said Monday that it had been aware of Mendoza since an arrest in Jefferson County in April of 2002. Since then, ICE says, he has faced multiple removals and returned to Mexico at least 16 times. The latest was on May 29 of this year, ICE said.
Denver7 Investigates has learned Mendoza was driving for a company called Monique Trucking, LLC at the time of the crash and has reached out to the company for response to Mendoza's immigration history.
According to CSP's investigation, Mendoza was driving a semi southbound on US 285 near Conifer on Tuesday afternoon. He was hauling pipes and angle iron. Around 5 p.m., near milepost 232 south of Conifer, he allegedly drove off the edge of the road, rolling the semi onto its side and dumping the load on top of five vehicles, CSP said.
