Driver pleads guilty to causing wrong-way crash that led to death of LA County sheriff's recruit

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — A 25-year-old man has pleaded guilty to causing a wrong-way crash that led to the death of a Los Angeles sheriff's recruit and injured several other recruits who were out on a run.

Nicholas Gutierrez of Diamond Bar, California, pleaded guilty Monday to one count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and nine counts of reckless driving causing injuries, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said in a statement. He was ordered to receive an eight-year suspended prison sentence and be placed on probation for five years, the statement said.

Defense attorney Alexandra Kazarian, who previously represented Gutierrez, did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.

The plea came more than three years after Gutierrez was driving an SUV that veered onto the wrong side of the road in suburban Whittier in 2022, striking 25 recruits on a morning run. Authorities said 76 recruits from the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and several local police agencies were running in formation in the street when the crash occurred.

Authorities said the investigation determined that Gutierrez appeared to have fallen asleep while driving. Ten recruits were seriously injured including Alejandro Martinez, who died from his injuries eight months later, the statement said.

The plea marks “a step toward justice and a measure of closure for the victims and their families whose lives have been forever changed,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said in the statement.