A Diamond Bar man pleaded guilty Monday in connection with a wrong-way crash near Whittier that killed a Los Angeles County sheriff’s recruit and injured more than two dozen others.
Nicholas Joseph Gutierrez, 25, pleaded guilty Monday to one felony count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and nine felony counts of reckless driving causing injury, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Gutierrez is scheduled to be sentenced May 8.
The charges stem from a Nov. 16, 2022 crash in which 76 members of Sheriff’s Academy Class 464 were on a training run along Mills Avenue near Bentongrove Drive when Gutierrez, driving southbound in an unincorporated area near Whittier, crossed into northbound lanes and struck the group, prosecutors said.
In all, 25 recruits were injured, including 10 who suffered serious injuries. Alejandro Martinez-Inzunza later died from his injuries on July 28, 2023, according to the D.A.’s office.
“Today’s plea … cannot undo the devastation of that day, nor will it bring back the life that was lost,” District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said in a statement. “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.”
Authorities said a yearlong investigation found no evidence the crash was intentional and determined Gutierrez likely fell asleep at the wheel before drifting into the recruits.
The case was investigated by the California Highway Patrol and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.