The 17th deportation of the truck driver in the fatal Colorado crash that killed an owner operator has brought about “mixed emotions” for the deceased driver’s widow.
Ignacio Cruz-Mendoza served about seven months of a one year sentence after being convicted of only misdemeanor traffic violations for the fatal crash. He was released on Sunday, March 30th, and was immediately detained by ICE and will soon be deported for the 17th time since 2002.
“I don’t think he deserves to be in this country and kill somebody else,” said DeAnn Miller, whose husband Scott was killed in the crash. She and her husband owned and operated their own trucking company, hauling water across the county. Scott was in his personal car at the time of the crash.
Miller has been in contact with ICE prior to Cruz-Mendoza’s release to confirm that they would be waiting for him upon his release. She also says that ICE contacted her to confirm they had the man in custody.
NEW: Today, ICE detained Ignacio Cruz-Mendoza, a citizen of Mexico, after he was released from JeffCo Jail. He was spent about 1 year there after illegally driving a semi-truck that crashed last summer, killing a man. He’s been removed from the U.S 12 times before @DenverChannel pic.twitter.com/qFHfeOcxdK
— Natalie Chuck Denver7 (@NatalieChuck) March 30, 2025
“I didn’t feel that he belonged in this country anymore seeing that he broke our laws and had no remorse for it,” Miller said to 9 News. “They promised me that they would do it, and they would let me know once it was done. And they did. I got a text from them on Sunday.”
“It was a lot of mixed emotions after I got that text,” Miller said. “I felt guilty because I had altered somebody’s life. It sounds strange but I felt sorry for him. I know I did the right thing, but it’s still hard. I can’t explain it.”
“I applaud ICE for doing their job and taking him out of this country. He doesn’t belong here,” Miller added. “I don’t have anything against someone wanting to make a better life for themselves, but they have to do it the right way. He made a lot of mistakes.”
Since the fatal accident, Miller has been working to create safer trucking regulations, citing issues with both the legal outcome of her husband’s case, and systematic issues with the industry itself. Miller has already testified in support of the Secure Roads and Safe Trucking Act of 2025 in Arkansas. The Act would create stricter penalties for non-US citizen drivers and require proficiency in English.
“Our practices that we’re doing right now with our trucking industry are unsafe, and it’s killing people on the roads,” she said to Denver 7.
In March, DeAnn went to Arkansas to testify in support of the Secure Roads and Safe Trucking Act of 2025, which would create stricter penalties for drivers who are non-U.S. citizens and drive commercial vehicles. Part of the bill requires “operators of commercial 13 motor vehicles have proficiency in the English 14 language.”
