Driver Pleads Guilty in Deadly Sheriff Recruit Crash

A Diamond Bar driver pleaded guilty in Los Angeles County to the 2022 wrong-way crash that killed sheriff’s recruit Alejandro Martinez-Inzunza. (da.lacounty.gov) Nicholas Joseph Gutierrez, 25, admitted one felony count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and nine felony counts of reckless driving causing specified injury in a Norwalk courtroom on April 20. Judge Laura Walton imposed an eight-year state prison term, then suspended it, and put him on five years of strict probation. (da.lacounty.gov) Under the plea deal, Gutierrez avoids prison now, but the court must impose the full eight years if he violates probation. Prosecutors said the charges stem from a November 16, 2022 crash during a training run near Whittier. (abc7.com, da.lacounty.gov) Investigators said 76 members of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Academy Class 464 were running on Mills Avenue at Bentongrove Drive when Gutierrez crossed from the southbound side into northbound lanes and hit the group. Twenty-five recruits were injured, and 10 of them were listed as seriously injured. (da.lacounty.gov, nbclosangeles.com) Martinez-Inzunza did not die at the scene. He died on July 28, 2023, eight months after the crash, turning a mass-injury case into a homicide prosecution. (da.lacounty.gov, nbclosangeles.com) The plea closes a case that drew national attention because the victims were sheriff’s recruits on a supervised morning run, not drivers in another car. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said the outcome cannot undo the loss but marks “a step toward justice” and “a measure of closure” for families and other victims. (da.lacounty.gov) The investigation took about a year and involved the California Highway Patrol, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau, and a multidisciplinary crash team. Detectives said they found no evidence the crash was intentional and concluded Gutierrez likely fell asleep, causing his SUV to drift across lanes. (da.lacounty.gov, nbclosangeles.com) Gutierrez said in a 2022 interview with NBC Los Angeles that he fell asleep on the way to work and did not mean to hit anyone. His guilty plea ends the criminal case without a trial, but the suspended sentence means the threat of prison remains over the next five years. (nbclosangeles.com, abc7.com)