A man from Diamond Bar has withdrawn his guilty plea in connection with a devastating wrong-way collision that claimed the life of a Los Angeles County sheriff’s recruit and left numerous others injured during a training exercise, according to his attorney.
Nicholas Gutierrez pulled back his plea following testimony from more than a dozen crash survivors in court on Friday, when the judge opted to impose a one-year jail sentence, defense attorney Alexandra Kazarian announced Saturday.
“Based on the fact that he has been diagnosed with a seizure disorder, we have withdrawn the plea and will go to trial,” Kazarian stated.
Under his previous agreement with prosecutors, Gutierrez was set to receive an eight-year suspended prison term along with five years of probation after entering guilty pleas to vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and nine charges of reckless driving resulting in injury.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office has not yet responded to requests for comment.
According to law enforcement officials, Gutierrez was operating an SUV that crossed into oncoming traffic in suburban Whittier during 2022, colliding with 25 recruits during their morning training run. The group had been running together in formation at the time of the incident.
The investigation revealed that Gutierrez had apparently dozed off behind the wheel. The crash left ten recruits with severe injuries, including Alejandro Martinez, who succumbed to his injuries eight months following the accident.
