Driver charged in 2022 wrong-way crash that killed and injured L.A. County sheriff’s recruits

The man behind the wheel in a horrific wrong-way crash outside an L.A. County Sheriff’s Department training facility, which left one person dead, has been charged with manslaughter, prosecutors said Thursday.

Nicholas Gutierrez, 23, surrendered Thursday and faces charges of vehicular manslaughter and reckless driving that caused injuries in the November 2022 wreck, prosecutors said. Gutierrez plowed into a group of recruits who were on a training run in South Whittier, near the Sheriff’s Department’s STARS Center training academy.

More than two dozen recruits were struck, and five suffered critical injuries. Earlier this year, 27-year-old Alejandro Martinez died of his injuries. He had been hospitalized and on a ventilator for nearly eight months.

“There is nothing we can do to bring back the life of young Alejandro Martinez … he will never be back with his family,” said Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón.

If convicted of all charges, Gutierrez faces 12 years in state prison. The district attorney announced the charges immediately following another news conference about a vehicle crash that claimed the life of a law enforcement officer. Prosecutors also brought murder charges Thursday against 20-year-old Brian David Oliveri, the driver who slammed into a vehicle in Northridge last week that claimed the life of off-duty LAPD Officer Darrell Cunningham.

At the time of the 2022 crash outside the training facility, then-Sheriff Alex Villanueva claimed that Gutierrez intentionally slammed his car into the recruits, saying his department’s investigation had turned up probable cause to file attempted murder charges.

But Gutierrez’s lawyer, Alexandra Kazarian, said her client simply fell asleep behind the wheel on his way to work. A breathalyzer test conducted at the scene confirmed Gutierrez was not under the influence of alcohol.

Prosecutors said Thursday that they were “exploring a claim of drowsiness,” but would not discuss the exact cause of the crash. Gascón said the evidence did not support allegations that Gutierrez speeded up while careening toward the recruits.

Gutierrez comes from a law-enforcement family, Kazarian previously told The Times. His father is a retired corrections officer and he has relatives who worked in the Los Angeles Police Department, the California Highway Patrol and the Sheriff’s Department.

“He harbors absolutely no animosity toward law enforcement,” Kazarian said.

In an interview with KNBC-TV Channel 4 last year, Gutierrez said the crash was an accident and that he wished “it never happened.”

On the morning of Nov. 16, roughly eight weeks into the 76-member academy’s training regimen, the group was on a four-mile training run, moving in formation. Around 6:30 a.m., a mile into their run, those at the front of the group spotted a Honda CR-V approaching.

The aftermath of the crash in which a group of L.A. County sheriff’s cadets was struck in Whittier in November 2022.

(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

The SUV veered to the wrong side of the road and into the group. The runners at the front were able to get out of the way before the SUV struck others and crashed into a lamppost.

Authorities said several of the recruits suffered broken bones and severe head trauma. Villanueva described the scene as an “airplane wreck.”

Villanueva’s successor, Sheriff Robert Luna, said the crash forever altered Academy Class 464, noting that several of those struck suffered life-altering injuries.

“Some of them dreamed of becoming police officers and deputy sheriffs,”Luna said. “Some of them aren’t going to be able to do that.”

A native Angeleno, Martinez made it his life’s mission to be a dedicated public servant, serving as a member of the Army National Guard before applying to become a deputy sheriff, those who knew him said.

He was sworn in as a full deputy soon after the crash.

“He was a great recruit,” said his former drill instructor, Victor Rodriguez. “He wasn’t one to draw attention to himself, which spoke volumes. He had this maturity, this life experience. He was an example of a recruit for other ones that are new to this type of career, new to this structure.”

William Preciado, a former California Highway Patrol officer whose daughter Lauren Preciado was seriously injured in the crash, said of the charges: “We knew this day was coming. We just didn’t know when.”

“It gives me, I guess, a sense of satisfaction that some kind of justice will be forthcoming for this individual,” he said.

Preciado said his daughter was planning to follow in his footsteps by getting into law enforcement, a career that is now in jeopardy.

“The incident changed many lives. Not only my daughter’s but the other individuals that were trying to pursue their future,” he said. “That’s a lasting impact for the Martinez family who lost their son. My daughter is on a long road to recovery.”

With the injury his daughter sustained, Preciado said, “I don’t really know that she’ll be effective to the point that she can be gainfully employed anywhere, let alone law enforcement.”

“A broken bone will heal, the skin may heal itself as well,” he said. “But how do you fix a crushed dream? How do you do that? That was my daughter’s dream.”

In the Northridge case, Gascón said Oliveri was under the influence of alcohol and driving at speeds above 100 mph when he ran a red light and slammed into Cunningham’s vehicle. The officer and his passenger, Jorge Soriano, died at the scene.

L.A. Police Chief Michel Moore speaks at the news conference as D.A. George Gascón comforts Eddrinna Cunningham.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Oliveri was charged with two counts of murder, two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and one count of driving under the influence and causing injury. If convicted of all charges, Oliveri faces life in prison, Gascón said.

An off-duty San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy who was in the car with Cunningham was seriously injured, according to LAPD Chief Michel Moore. The deputy suffered a broken pelvis and remains hospitalized but is expected to survive, Moore said. Soriano was also planning to join the academy soon.

Cunningham had nearly 5 years on the job and in talking with everyone who knew him, he lit up a room … he lived to be a member of this organization. He lived a life of service,” Moore said. “At a time when we struggle to identify people who are willing to step into this profession, to have lost his life, to have lost Darrell’s life, in such a senseless fashion, is beyond words.”