Wednesday, a Denver truck driver was found guilty of five counts of vehicular homicide in a 2022 crash that killed a family of five in Weld County.
Jesus Puebla was also convicted of vehicular assault, careless driving, reckless driving, and two commercial vehicle traffic violations.
The 27-year-old was driving a commercial box truck carrying U.S. mail north on I-25 when he rear-ended the family’s SUV.
Aaron Godines and his family were returning home to Gillette, Wyo., after celebrating his 20th birthday in Colorado. He had slowed down the Ford Edge in traffic before the truck slammed into the vehicle at high speed.
Godines, his parents, Emiliano and Christina, his fianceé Halie Everts, and their infant daughter, Tessleigh, were all killed.
Two other vehicles were involved in the crash. The drivers and passengers in those vehicles were not injured.
Court documents show Puebla didn’t have a commercial driver’s license at the time of the crash and the truck’s brakes were out of alignment. The truck’s owner, Lucky 22, did not have insurance on the vehicle. Puebla testified that he tried pressing the brakes, but the truck didn’t slow down. Prosecutors argued that he was driving recklessly for miles before the crash.
The U.S. Postal Service has since severed ties with the company’s parent company, California-based Caminantes Trucking, after 11 crashes, including two fatal wrecks, in a two-year span.
Puebla’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 21.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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