On Thursday, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office charged a 23-year-old man for the Whittier crash that killed one law enforcement cadet and injured 24 others last year.
Prosecutors charged the suspect Nicholas Gutierrez with one count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, one count of vehicular manslaughter with simple negligence and nine counts of reckless driving causing bodily injury.
The violent crash happened on Nov. 16, 2022, on Mills Avenue, just north of Telegraph Road. The California Highway Patrol said Gutierrez veered onto the wrong side of the road before crashing into a group of 75 cadets out on a training run.
The crash injured 25 recruits, four of whom were in critical condition and another was in grave condition. All but one of the cadets recovered from their injuries.
Alejandro Martinez, 27, died at UCLA Medical Center after an eight-month battle with the severe injuries he sustained during the crash.
Last year, when we started a new effort to recruit more LASD deputies, Alejandro Martinez answered our call," Supervisor Janice Hahn tweeted earlier this year. "His passing, months after that terrible crash, is nothing short of a tragedy. My prayers are with his family, his friends, and his fellow recruits. May he rest in peace."
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department arrested Gutierrez shortly after the crash last year. Initially, deputies claimed that Gutierrez crashed into the recruits intentionally. Gutierrez's lawyer said his client fell asleep at the wheel.
He was eventually released due to a lack of evidence.
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