WELD COUNTY, Colo. — A Weld County judge on Friday sentenced a man to 11 years in prison after his conviction for killing five family members in a crash when he failed to slow down for stopped traffic.
On June 13, 2022, Jesus Puebla was driving a truck carrying mail for the U.S. Postal Service on northbound Interstate 25 in Weld County when he slammed into the back of a car with a family inside.
"Sometimes I wish there was an opportunity that heaven could have visiting hours," Abigail Godinez told the judge as she described how much she missed her family.
Her brother Aaron Godinez, his fiancee Hailie Everts, and their 3-month-old daughter Tessleigh were killed in the crash. Abigail and Aaron's parents, Christina and Emiliano, were also killed.
Puebla was charged with 10 counts, including five counts of vehicular homicide - one count for each victim - and one count of vehicular assault - for a man in another vehicle who was injured but survived. In March, a jury convicted him on all charges.
Weld County District Judge Allison Esser sentenced him to two years for each of the vehicular homicide charges and one year for the vehicular assault charge. She ordered those sentences to be served consecutively for a total of 11 years in the state Department of Corrections.
Puebla received a sentence of 90 days in jail for counts 7-9, but for each was given credit for 93 days he has already spent behind bars, so those sentences are considered complete. For his conviction on count 10, the judge ordered him to pay a $100 fine.
Esser sentenced Puebla after hearing from multiple family members of the five victims, as well as Puebla's family members.
Hailie Everts' father described the last two years since the crash as "hell on Earth" and said Puebla's "foolish act" left him "dead inside."
Puebla's brother acknowledged the loss but told the judge his brother was not a criminal who should be locked up for life. He described him as hardworking and said he was an amazing father to his two young children.
"Jesus is a hardworking man who was just trying to make a living for his family," Norberto Puebla Gallegos said. "He is a good person who would never mean to hurt anyone."
Puebla’s attorney had argued that Caminantes Trucking, the company that owned the truck, was at fault. A Colorado State Patrol investigation and the truck driver’s attorneys both concluded the truck did not have working brakes. Even if they had been working, prosecutors argued, Puebla was driving recklessly miles before the crash and failed to react to stopped traffic in front of him because he was distracted.
Esser acknowledged the brake issue when sentencing Puebla but also said evidence showed if he had been paying attention he would have been able to stop in time.
"This was reckless driving in a 20,000-pound truck – you had a responsibility to our community," Esser said. "There was never going to be a fender bender.”
“I’m so sorry this happened, and I never meant to hurt anyone,” Puebla said when he briefly addressed the court.
Federal court records show that Caminantes Trucking did not have insurance on the vehicle and attempted to purchase coverage less than an hour after the crash.
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