Nicholas Gutierrez, 25, of Diamond Bar, California, pleaded guilty Monday to causing a wrong-way crash that killed a Los Angeles County sheriff’s recruit and injured nine others during a training run in 2022. Gutierrez was sentenced to eight years suspended prison time and five years’ probation, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced. The plea came more than three years after his SUV veered onto the wrong side of the road in suburban Whittier, striking recruits on a morning jog.
The crash exposed safety vulnerabilities in law enforcement training operations, with investigations determining that Gutierrez had apparently fallen asleep while driving. The guilty plea represents what prosecutors described as a measure of closure for the victims and families affected by the incident.
The Guilty Plea
Nicholas Gutierrez appeared in Los Angeles County court Monday and entered guilty pleas to one count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and nine counts of reckless driving causing injuries, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. The court ordered an eight-year suspended prison sentence with five years’ probation.
The plea resolved charges stemming from a crash in suburban Whittier in 2022, when Gutierrez’s SUV veered onto the wrong side of the road during the early morning hours. According to authorities, 76 recruits from the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and several local police agencies were running in formation in the street at the time.
The Incident
The crash struck 25 of the recruits. Ten sustained serious injuries. Among those seriously hurt was Alejandro Martinez, a Los Angeles County sheriff’s recruit. Martinez died from his injuries eight months after the crash.
Investigators determined that Gutierrez appeared to have fallen asleep while driving at the time of the collision.
A Step Toward Justice
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said in a statement that the plea marks “a step toward justice and a measure of closure for the victims and their families whose lives have been forever changed.”