Who is really to blame for that deadly I-70 crash?

Re: “Trucker in I-70 pileup guilty,” Oct. 16 news story

I subscribe to The Denver Post because I value journalism, but I am extremely disappointed with your coverage of the “fiery 28 car pileup” recently adjudicated. You covered the accident and trial, but missed the big story.

The driver was not a crazed individual who intentionally attacked people. He was an incompetent driver, driving a defective vehicle, and four people died. This will happen again unless someone does some investigative journalism. He is not the only such driver on the road.

Who hired him, put him in that truck, and sent him across the Mountains? What was the name of the trucking company? Who owns it? Did the driver have any experience other than taking a trip with his brother? What was his training?

Does the company keep it’s trucks in good working order? Who talked to the driver when he called someone to ask them about his smoking brakes?

There is a shortage of truck drivers. Are they willing to hire anyone willing to get up into the cab? Are they sending the same trucks over the same route with similar drivers? I’ve been forced off the interstate by semis driving badly and others have had similar experiences. Crashes seem to happen daily. What does the Colorado State Patrol think?

When I read your coverage, the terms “fall guy” and “cover-up” keep ringing in my head. But I not a conspiracy theorist; I’m a retired federal investigator. There’s a story here. You missed it.

Jim Roth, Littleton

I’m glad this trial is over, and the trucker has been found guilty. Now how about the trucking company who hired him and sent him with a heavy load by himself for the first run? Where is their negligence in adequate training? The inexperienced driver should not bear sole responsibility for these tragic deaths.

Donna Lorene Lucero, Lakewood

Although the guilty verdict was no surprise (defense should have gone for a change of venue) it is distinctly odd that no mention is ever made about this driver’s employer being held accountable. Aguilera-mederos should not have been put in the driver’s seat of a big rig headed into the mountains. Why did this company not do its proper assessment as to his ability and experience in handling a large heavy vehicle in the Rockies? Put me in that driver’s seat, and I guarantee the result would have been the same or worse. He was in panic mode, scared and totally unprepared for what was happening.

He was not and is not a killer. The jail time he is potentially facing is, in my opinion, unjust. Let’s put at least a big portion of this guilt where it belongs — on the trucking company. It is very concerning to me that there are drivers in our mountains like Mr. Aguilera-mederos, unskilled, unprepared and unable to handle large trucks. Are these trucking companies putting us and our families in danger every time we head toward the mountains and encounter big rigs?

Donna Noone, Thornton