Driver Gets Suspended Sentence in Recruit Crash

Nicholas Gutierrez pleaded guilty Monday in the 2022 wrong-way crash that killed a Los Angeles County sheriff’s recruit and injured 24 others. (da.lacounty.gov) A Los Angeles County judge imposed an eight-year state prison term and suspended it under a plea deal, leaving Gutierrez on five years of probation unless he violates the court’s conditions. Formal sentencing is set for May 8. (abc7.com) Prosecutors said Gutierrez, 25, of Diamond Bar, admitted one felony count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and nine felony counts of reckless driving causing specified injury. (da.lacounty.gov) The crash happened on Nov. 16, 2022, when 76 members of Sheriff’s Academy Class 464 were running on Mills Avenue near Whittier. Gutierrez crossed into the northbound lanes and hit the group. (nbclosangeles.com) Twenty-five recruits were hurt, including 10 with serious injuries. Alejandro Martinez-Inzunza died on July 28, 2023, about eight months after the crash. (da.lacounty.gov) Investigators said the year-long case found no evidence the crash was intentional. The California Highway Patrol and sheriff’s investigators concluded Gutierrez appeared to have fallen asleep and drifted across lanes. (da.lacounty.gov) That finding shaped the charges and the plea. Gutierrez was not convicted of an intentional assault; he pleaded to negligence-based manslaughter and reckless driving counts tied to the injured recruits. (nbclosangeles.com) District Attorney Nathan Hochman said the plea “cannot undo the devastation of that day” but marked “a step toward justice” for the victims and their families. (da.lacounty.gov) Gutierrez told NBC Los Angeles in a 2022 interview that he did not mean to hit the recruits and had fallen asleep while driving to work. His prison term now depends on whether he follows probation terms after the May 8 hearing. (nbclosangeles.com)