Driver Who Struck Group of Recruits Now Charged with Vehicular Manslaughter

The driver who last year plowed into a group of recruits from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and several other police agencies, resulting in the later death of one of them, now has been charged with two counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.

Twenty-five law enforcement recruits were injured during a training run in Whittier, California when an SUV swerved from the opposite side of the road and struck multiple members of the group. The recruits suffered injuries ranging from minor to critical. Eight months later one of the recruits, 27-year-old Alejandro Martinez, died from his injuries.

Injured Recruits

Following the collision, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said some of the most severe injuries included head trauma, broken bones, and loss of limbs, and added that one of the five critically injured was on a ventilator.

Latest Charges

The driver of that SUV, Nicholas Gutierrez, 23, was re-arrested this week and charged with two counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and nine counts of reckless driving causing great bodily injury, reports ABC7 . Gutierrez initially, soon after the incident, was arrested on attempted murder charges .

He surrendered Thursday and was released on a $500,000 bond, with arraignment scheduled for early next week. In addition to two counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, Gutierrez is also charged with nine counts of reckless driving causing great bodily injury.