JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — Time can move slowly, or seem to pass in the blink of an eye. For DeAnn Miler, it’s both.
“Long. Not having my husband with me makes the days go by very slowly, but short in the respect that, you know, (I’m) still trying to get some things done,” said DeAnn.
Since her husband, Scott, was killed in a crash last summer, DeAnn has been trying to get the attention of the trucking industry.
Scott died after a semi-truck, driven by Ignacio Cruz-Mendoza, rolled over and spilled its contents on Highway 285 outside of Bailey. Cruz-Mendoza was sentenced to one year in Jefferson County jail after pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges.
On Sunday morning, Denver7 Investigates captured the moment Cruz-Mendoza was released from jail and immediately taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, who were waiting for him in the lobby.
“I was happy that ICE did their job and he's going to be deported because, you know, he doesn't belong in this country. He is here illegally,” said DeAnn. “But at the same time, I had mixed emotions because, I know this sounds weird, but I felt sorry for the guy, too. So, you know, just weird. It was just a rough day.”
Denver7 Investigates
Driver in deadly semi crash released from jail, immediately detained by ICE
According to ICE, Cruz-Mendoza was in the country illegally at the time of the crash. The agency said he has been forcibly removed from the country 12 times and voluntarily returned to his home country, Mexico, four other times, all since 2002.
“If we weren't here, this person would have been released back to the community of Denver,” said Robert Guadian, the ICE field director, following Sunday’s detainment.
Additionally, Cruz-Mendoza did not have a valid commercial driver's license and was not legally allowed to be driving the semi-truck.
“I have nothing against people trying to make a better life for themselves,” said DeAnn. “I understand that's why immigrants come to this country. But we do have laws, and we don't want to see our loved ones being killed.”
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
DeAnn and Scott made their livelihoods running a trucking company themselves, hauling water in bulk. She is calling for stricter laws, both locally and federally, for drivers and the trucking companies who hire them.
“Our practices that we're doing right now with our trucking industry are unsafe, and it's killing people on the roads,” she said.
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.”
The bill has been opposed by the ACLU of Arkansas.
