Man Pleads Guilty in Crash Killing Sheriff's Recruit

A 25-year-old man from Diamond Bar, California, pleaded guilty on Monday to charges stemming from a wrong-way crash that killed one Los Angeles County sheriff's recruit and injured 25 others during a training run near Whittier in November 2022.

Nicholas Joseph Gutierrez entered the plea in Los Angeles County Superior Court 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. He faces an eight-year suspended state prison sentence and five years of probation, with formal sentencing scheduled for May 8. Prosecutors noted that violating probation terms could result in serving the full prison term.

The incident occurred on November 16, 2022, along Mills Avenue near Bentongrove Drive in an unincorporated area south of Whittier. Gutierrez was driving a sport utility vehicle southbound when it crossed into the northbound lanes and struck a group of 76 recruits from the Los Angeles Sheriff's Academy Class 464, along with members from several local police agencies. The recruits were running in formation as part of their training when the collision...