Driver of deadly semi truck crash was deported 12 times and left 4 times on his own

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JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — A man released from Jefferson County's Detention Center on Sunday morning quickly found himself back in handcuffs—this time, in federal custody.

Ignacio Cruz-Mendoza, 47, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in the lobby of the detention center just before 8:30 a.m. on Sunday.

Cruz-Mendoza, a citizen of Mexico, is the driver of a semi-truck that crashed in June 2024 on Highway 285 just outside Conifer, killing one man.

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

"If we weren't here, this person would have been released back to the community of Denver," said Robert Guadian, the ICE field director.

Denver7 Investigates was the first to report that Cruz-Mendoza was in the U.S. illegally at the time of the crash and had been ordered to be removed to Mexico several times, according to ICE.

The agency reports that Cruz-Mendoza has been removed from the United States 12 times and voluntarily returned to Mexico four times since 2002.

After being detained on Sunday, Cruz-Mendoza was taken to the ICE Denver Contract Detention Facility and will stay there, pending deportation.

The operation required a handful of agents.

Guardian said these types of arrests should not require as many agents but blames the fact that local law enforcement agencies in Colorado do not allow transportation of inmates to ICE custody inside of the jail. Typically, federal agents must wait for an inmate outside or in the lobby of facilities.

"We'd rather be in the jail. Making a safe and secure transfer of custody takes people off the line, takes agents and officers off the line that... could be doing other things, enforcement activities. Instead, we have to wait in parking lots," said Guadian.