Day 4: The I-70 Castellano 03 Inferno

How a Cuban Immigrant, a Houston Shell Company, and Regulatory Failure Created Colorado's Deadliest Highway Tragedy

The lumber truck hauling 2x4s should never have been on Interstate 70 that April afternoon. Neither should its driver. Castellano 03 Trucking LLC, had accumulated 30 safety violations in the two years before the crash, including violations for employing drivers who couldn't read English highway signs. Interstate 70 in Colorado features numerous signs, all in English, between Genesee and Colorado Mills Parkway, warning truckers of steep grades, sharp curves, gear shifts, and the locations of runaway truck ramps.

At 4:30 p.m. on April 25, 2019, Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos lost control of his semi-trailer truck when his brakes malfunctioned while going down a mountainous stretch of Interstate 70. What followed was the destruction of four families, exposing a chameleon carrier operation and revealing how federal oversight systems fail when profits take precedence over people.

Aguilera-Mederos was first reported speeding as he passed Genesee (Exit 254). Video evidence would later show his truck smoking as he passed a runaway truck ramp without taking it, instead drifting into the left lane, nearly clipping a white Chevy Silverado. For the next several minutes, Aguilera-Mederos reached speeds upwards of 100 miles per hour and passed the next four exits.

The fatal trip was his first time driving a truck through the mountains, despite telling police he had mountain experience. On cross-examination, Deputy District Attorney Kayla Wildeman focused on inconsistencies between Aguilera-Mederos' testimony and what he'd told police in an initial interview, including that he'd told investigators he'd previously driven in Colorado's mountains. Families against mandatory minimums did call for an investigation into her office.

When pressed, Aguilera-Mederos said he'd misunderstood the police officers' questions. "When I say mountain, I am referring to a small hill, and I am talking about dangerous hills going downwards," he testified.

Police officers testified that Aguilera-Mederos hurtled down the interstate on the right shoulder during rush hour, chasing multiple cars off the side of the road to avoid being hit. As he gained speed, he started applying the trailer's brakes. It didn't work. Aguilera-Mederos then attempted to use his truck's emergency brake. That didn't work either.

Aguilera-Mederos looked down at his speedometer and noticed he was going 85 mph. With a semitrailer blocking the right shoulder, Aguilera-Mederos swerved into stopped traffic. "He said he thought he was gonna die".

The lumber from his trailer, combined with gasoline from smashed cars and mattresses from a Beautyrest truck, created instant fuel for explosions that would consume 28 vehicles and close I-70 for 24 hours.

The Victims

Four men died in the inferno: Miguel Angel Lamas Arellano, 24, William Bailey, 67, Doyle Harrison, 61, and Stanley Politano, 69. When his defense attorney asked about the four people who died, Aguilera-Mederos put his head in his arm and wept. "I feel very badly, I wish that it had been me".

The systemic failures that enabled this tragedy continue today.

So Who Is Castellano 03 Trucking?

Castellano 03 Trucking LLC only had five trucks in its fleet, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The Houston-based company operated under DOT number 3029296 and MC number 38540. Owner Yaimy Galan Segura gave a deposition after the accident, admitting she knew nothing about the trucking industry. She had a neighbor who owned a small company and was doing well. With advice from friends and researching the internet, Yaimy started her very own trucking company.

This is the classic profile of a chameleon carrier: an inexperienced operator running trucks with minimal insurance while accumulating violations. Castellano 03 Trucking only carried the minimum $750,000 of liability insurance, the federal minimum. Safety records show that Castellano 03 Trucking LLC has incurred multiple vehicle maintenance violations over the past 24 months, including 10 violations related to brakes or brake systems.

Usually, when I work with carriers or am an expert in highway accident litigation cases or insurance risk, violations like these that generally cannot be discovered by the driver in a pre-trip inspection, I refer to as systemic failures. That's opposed to driver-focused issues, where the driver could easily have found and had the defect repaired. These systemic failures generally tell a story of management more than they tell a story of a bad driver, but they often go hand in hand.

The Shell Game

Castellano 03 Trucking, LLC dissolved a few months after the fatal crash. The day after the crash, on April 26, Volt Trucking LLC was registered as a business with the Texas Secretary of State's Office. Both companies were registered at the same Houston home address, 12010 Fork Creek Dr.

The name of Yaimy Galan Segura, who was the owner of Castellano 03 Trucking, appears in the signature line for a Texas Franchise Tax Public Information Report filed for Volt Trucking.

Same Players, Same Problems

According to inspection reports on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration website, Volt Trucking LLC has been linked to at least 23 violations, including "inoperative/defective brakes" and "brake connections with leaks or constrictions". Records show violations for "Brake connections with Constrictions Under Vehicle," "Brake Connections with Leaks - Connection to Power Unit," "Clamp or Roto type brake out-of-adjustment," and "No or defective brake warning device or pressure gauge".

So, what we do is dissolve the company with a bad safety record, register a new one the day after the crash, and continue operating with the same people and the same problems.

The NTSB didn't get involved. That means no federal safety recommendations, no systematic analysis of contributing factors, and no pressure on FMCSA to address the regulatory failures that enabled this tragedy.

When asked why the NTSB didn't investigate, Peter Knudson said the NTSB's teams get involved when the agency sees an opportunity to issue new traffic safety recommendations. He said the agency opens investigations into between 15 and 20 of the estimated 8 million traffic accidents that occur in the US each year.

Four deaths, 28 vehicles destroyed, and systemic carrier safety failures don't meet the threshold for federal investigation. The NTSB apparently saw no opportunity for safety recommendations in a case involving a chameleon carrier with 30 prior violations employing a driver who couldn't read English warning signs.

The Insurance

KKW Trucking won summary judgment on three of four claims in November 2020. It was awarded $97,723.81 in damages associated with the replacement cost of its tractor-trailer, the value of its lost cargo, and the workers' compensation benefits paid to the driver. The problem is that an attorney for KKW reported that Castellano had leased trucks and had no assets to collect the award.

This is the deliberate business model. Run trucks on minimum insurance, lease equipment to avoid assets, accumulate violations until a major crash occurs, then dissolve and restart under a new name. The victims and their families fight over whatever scraps remain from a $750,000 policy split among multiple claimants unless they find other parties to sue.

The Legal Circus

Aguilera-Mederos was initially sentenced to 110 years in prison, but Governor Jared Polis commuted his sentence to 10 years with parole eligibility on December 30, 2026. Nearly 5 million people signed a petition calling for clemency, including celebrities like Kim Kardashian.

People rallied around Aguilera-Mederos with the hashtag #NoTrucksToColorado, arguing the sentence was excessive for what they called an accident. Kyle Bachus, representing survivor Leslie Ross, said "It is also extremely difficult for victims to understand how the State of Texas ever allowed these same people to reopen and operate under another trucking company under a different name after they destroyed so many families".

So…Where They Are Now

Aguilera-Mederos is serving his 10-year sentence and will be eligible for parole on December 30, 2026. Next year! Meanwhile, the company structure continues. Yaimy Galan Segura received a $2,347 PPP loan in April 2021 for "General Freight Trucking, Local", indicating continued trucking operations.

The Texas Franchise Tax Public Information Report filed by Volt Trucking LLC for the 2021 reporting year lists Rafael Perez Rodriguez as the sole owner and officer, with Yaimy G. G. Segura signing the document, declaring that the information is accurate and correct.

The same address. The same players. The same pattern of brake violations. Different company name.

The System Working as Designed

This wasn't an accident. This was the predictable result of a system designed to protect carriers at the expense of public safety. Castellano 03 employed drivers who couldn't understand English warning signs on a mountain pass loaded with hazards. They accumulated 30 violations in two years without losing their authority. They carried minimum insurance while operating equipment with documented brake problems. When the inevitable happened, they dissolved and restarted operations the next day.

FMCSA knew about the violations. Texas regulators were aware of the company's issues. The Colorado DOT was mindful of the brake check areas where trucks were overheating. The NTSB chose not to investigate despite apparent systemic failures. Everyone knew. Nobody acted. Four people died.

Media outlets have reported on these cases for years, but now seem outraged. They report, attention disappears because we have short memories and that's it. It's over. Now there's interest. There's an agenda, so we revert back to day 2 of the series.

The most telling detail isn't Aguilera-Mederos's 10-year sentence or the company's chameleon tactics. It's what didn't happen. No NTSB investigation means no safety recommendations are issued. No federal pressure on FMCSA to tighten oversight of small carriers. No requirement for enhanced insurance minimums. No changes to the carrier registration system that allows dissolved companies to restart operations immediately. In yet another case, the driver goes to prison, and ownership and management move on. The same applies to Danny Tiner in AZ’s TikTok crash and Richard Hutchinson Wright in the VA Ashley Chapman crash. The drivers face the consequence, the owner starts a new business, maybe pays some money as the cost of doing business, and life goes on for the owner. The driver’s life and career are over.

Segura disputed over $10,000 in fines through arbitration, fighting violations including 49 CFR 382.301(a) for allowing drivers to perform safety-sensitive functions without proper controlled substance testing. She spent more energy fighting regulatory fines than preventing the crash that killed four people.

The Real Questions

Why did FMCSA allow Castellano 03 to continue operating with 30 violations? Why haven’t we required meaningful minimums for insurance? The OOIDA is against raising minimums for coverage, but I believe coverage should be on a sliding scale. A trucking company with 5000 trucks should not have the same minimum as a company with two trucks, another argument for another day. Why can carriers dissolve and restart operations the day after a fatal crash? Why did the NTSB decline to investigate systemic failures that enabled this tragedy?

The answers suggest a regulatory system designed to protect industry profits, rather than public safety. Carriers operate on a minimum level of insurance, knowing they can dissolve after major crashes. Regulators issue violations knowing they're rarely enforced meaningfully. Federal agencies avoid investigations that might require uncomfortable recommendations about systemic change.

Volt Trucking went on to operate from the same address, with the same ownership structure, and faces the same brake violations that defined its predecessor. The newer business has been linked to at least 23 violations, including "inoperative/defective brakes" and "brake connections with leaks or constrictions.” Per Texas Corp records, Volt is closed.

The families of Miguel Angel Lamas Arellano, William Bailey, Doyle Harrison, and Stanley Politano received their final settlement checks from a $750,000 policy divided among multiple claimants. Meanwhile, the same people who employed their killer continued hauling freight with defective brakes under a different company name.

This is American transportation safety in action. Four families destroyed, one driver serving reduced time, and a regulatory system that enables it all while protecting the very people who profit from carnage.