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An image of carnage of I-25 crash scene (KDVR/screengrab) Jesus Puebla (inset left) in a Weld County mug shot, (inset right) victims Aaron Godinez, Halie Everts, and Tessleigh Godinez (GoFundme)
A trucker in Colorado was found guilty on Thursday of recklessly and carelessly driving his vehicle without a commercial driver’s license (CDL) on I-25, crashing into and killing five members of a family traveling home to Gillette, Wyoming, nearly two years ago.
Jesus Puebla, now 27, was convicted by jurors in Weld County of each and every charge among the 10 counts that the district attorney’s office announced in December 2022. The charges came down six months after 20-year-old Aaron Godinez, his 20-year-old fiancee Halie Everts, the couple’s 3-month-old daughter Tessleigh Godinez, and Aaron’s parents Emiliano and Christina Godinez, 51 and 47, were tragically killed in the crash.
In addition to five vehicular homicide counts, Puebla was found guilty of careless and reckless driving, and guilty of committing a commercial vehicle safety violation while also driving without a CDL that June 13, 2022.
Colorado Public Radio detailed that Puebla was illegally driving a box truck containing U.S. Postal Service mail when he rear-ended the victims and killed them, not long after the family had celebrated Aaron Godinez’s birthday. Local Fox affiliate KDVR reported that the defendant was driving the truck at 76 mph before he slammed into the victims’ 2015 Ford Edge, which was traveling anywhere from 6 to 10 mph.
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At trial, the defendant and his attorneys reportedly blamed Caminantes Trucking, who owned the box truck, for having Puebla drive a “Frankenstein truck” with brakes out of alignment. Prosecutors countered that eye witness testimony confirmed Puebla’s “driving was horrific” and was bound to place lives in danger even if the brakes weren’t faulty.
“He did not brake until he hit this family,” Deputy DA Yvette Guthrie said, 9News reported. “We know when he braked because there are skid marks. It’s that simple.”
The prosecutor reportedly pointed out that a 911 caller said Puebla “went through those vehicles like butter” and “didn’t even try to stop.” Another reported witness account from the affidavit in the case similarly condemned the truck driver’s actions.
“I was in the left lane and kinda remember him riding my ass, and I was like, ‘What the hell?”” that witness reportedly said.
In the end, jurors agreed that Puebla was criminally culpable for each death. When announcing Puebla’s conviction, the Weld County District Attorney’s Office emphasized that the defendant also “severely” injured another driver he crashed into that fateful day.
Puebla’s sentencing is currently set for the afternoon of June 21.
Under Colorado law, a vehicular manslaughter charge is a class 4 felony. Those crimes are generally punished by two to six years in prison.
