Tipsheet

This Wrong Way Driver Killed an LA Sheriff Recruit, Injured Several Others. He'll Serve No Prison Time.

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  April 21, 2026 8:30 AM

In 2022, Nicholas Gutierrez plowed his car into a group of 76 Los Angeles Sheriff recruits who were out for their morning run. He killed one, 27-year-old Alejandro Martinez-Inzunza, and injured dozens more, ten of them seriously. 

Police later determined that Gutierrez fell asleep behind the wheel, although initial speculation was that the act was intentional. In fact, they called it a deliberate act at the time of the crash.

Video of the crash is harrowing.

Yesterday, Guttierez pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter and multiple counts of reckless driving.

For his crimes, Gutierrez will not spend a day behind bars.

Here's more from CBS:

Nicholas Joseph Gutierrez, 25, of Diamond Bar, pleaded guilty to one felony count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and nine felony counts of reckless driving causing injury, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said.

The violent crash happened on Nov. 16, 2022, while 76 members of the LASD Sheriff's Academy Class 464 were on a training run in the early morning. As they ran along Mills Avenue, near Telegraph Road, Gutierrez, who was driving in the opposite direction, crossed into the northbound lanes and struck members of the group, the DA's Office said. 

Gutierrez was initially arrested at the scene shortly after the crash, when deputies claimed that the crash was intentional. He was later released due to a lack of evidence. He was arrested again in Nov. 2023 by California Highway Patrol officers, but was released from custody a few hours later. At the time, he was charged with 11 counts. 

After a lengthy investigation found there was no evidence to suggest that the crash was intentional, detectives determined that Gutierrez likely fell asleep at the wheel.

Gutierrez faced up to 12 years behind bars. Instead, he was given an eight-year suspended sentence and five years' probation. He also lost his license.

"Today's plea and sentence cannot undo the devastation of that day, nor will it bring back the life that was lost," said a statement from LA County DA Nathan Hochman. "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."

This is not justice. One man is dead, and several more were seriously injured. He ruined lives, and he won't spend a day behind bars.

Absolutely insane.

Yes, it is.

This is the Democratic Party in action. No justice for victims. No public safety. Just communities at the mercy of criminals.