Mexican national convicted in deadly semi-truck crash in Colorado detained by immigration authorities

A suspected illegal immigrant convicted in a deadly Colorado crash last year involving a semi-truck he was driving was detained on Sunday by federal immigration authorities.

Ignacio Cruz-Mendoza, 47, a Mexican national, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the lobby of the Jefferson County Detention Center shortly before 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, immediately after his release from jail, according to Denver7.

Cruz-Mendoza was the driver of a semi-truck involved in a June 2024 crash on Highway 285, which left one man dead.

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He pleaded guilty to one count of careless driving resulting in death and three counts of careless driving resulting in injury. He was sentenced to about one year in jail.

According to authorities, Cruz-Mendoza was in the U.S. illegally at the time of the crash. He also had removal orders from the country and had been sent to Mexico several times.

The agency said that since 2002, Cruz-Mendoza has been removed from the U.S. 12 times and voluntarily returned to Mexico four times.

"If we weren't here, this person would have been released back to the community of Denver," Robert Guadian of the ICE Denver Field Office told Denver7.

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After he was detained on Sunday, Cruz-Mendoza was transported to the ICE Denver Contract Detention Facility, where he will stay, pending removal from the U.S.