Man pleads guilty for crash that killed Los Angeles County sheriff's recruit, injured two dozen others
A man pleaded guilty on Monday in connection with a wrong-way crash in Whittier that killed a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department recruit and injured more than two dozen others in 2022.
Nicholas Joseph Gutierrez, 25, of Diamond Bar, pleaded guilty to one felony count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and nine felony counts of reckless driving causing injury, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said.
The violent crash happened on Nov. 16, 2022, while 76 members of the LASD Sheriff's Academy Class 464 were on a training run in the early morning. As they ran along Mills Avenue, near Telegraph Road, Gutierrez, who was driving in the opposite direction, crossed into the northbound lanes and struck members of the group, the DA's Office said.
Gutierrez was initially arrested at the scene shortly after the crash, when deputies claimed that the crash was intentional. He was later released due to a lack of evidence. He was arrested again in Nov. 2023 by California Highway Patrol officers, but was released from custody a few hours later. At the time, he was charged with 11 counts.
After a lengthy investigation found there was no evidence to suggest that the crash was intentional, detectives determined that Gutierrez likely fell asleep at the wheel.
The crash left 25 recruits injured, 10 of whom suffered serious injuries. Alejandro Martinez-Inzunza, 27, died from his injuries eight months after the crash in July 2023.
"Today's plea and sentence cannot undo the devastation of that day, nor will it bring back the life that was lost," said a statement from LA County DA Nathan Hochman. "But it does mark a step toward justice and a measure of closure for the victims and their families whose lives have been forever changed."
If convicted as charged, Gutierrez faces five years on probation and a suspended eight-year state prison term that he could face if he violates the terms of probation. He waived his right to a jury trial in January, leaving the case to be decided by a Los Angeles County Superior Judge if it had proceeded.
