25 recruits with LA County Sheriff’s Department injured by wrong-way driver; 5 in critical condition


SOUTH WHITTIER, Calif. (KTLA) – A wrong-way driver plowed into a group of law enforcement recruits who were jogging in Southern California on Wednesday morning, injuring 25 — and five of them critically.

The collision, which took place at about 6:25 a.m., sent dozens of police, fire and medical units to the scene of the incident at an intersection in South Whittier, near the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s STAR Explore Training Academy.

The class of recruits included 75 people, 65 from the LA County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) and 10 from other law enforcement agencies, including the Bell, Glendale, Pasadena, El Segundo and UCLA police departments.

Though officials at first said 23 total people were injured, 22 of them recruits, Sheriff Alex Villanueva later put the number of injured cadets at 25. Of those, 20 were from the LASD, 2 were from Bell, 2 were from Glendale and one was from Pasadena.

Five of the recruits were critically injured, four were moderately injured, and 16 others were minorly injured, officials said.

Injuries ranged from head trauma to broken bones and loss of limbs, the sheriff noted, adding that one recruit is on a ventilator. Patients were being treated at several area hospitals, including St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood and LAC+USC Medical Center.

“Now we’re facing some life-altering injuries for the most severely injured recruits … We hope all of them make a full recovery, and they’ll have a chance to come back and complete the academy. That’s my goal,” Villanueva said.

Capt. Sheila Kelliher of the Los Angeles County Fire Department had earlier issued a statement wishing all of the injured recruits a speedy recovery.

“It is hard to see because these young people are getting ready to go put themselves in the line of danger in their career, and who knows that while you’re training to do that, you’ve put yourself in harm’s way,” said Capt. Kelliher. “So my heart goes out to all of them as they pursue this career.”

The recruits were accompanied by two black-and-white safety vehicles, and some were wearing reflective vests for safety, while others wore bright white shirts. Villanueva said some recruits reported that they heard the car accelerating up to 30 to 40 mph before the collision, and no skid marks were seen.

Aerial footage from Nexstar’s KTLA, taken shortly after the incident, showed a gray SUV, possibly a Honda CRV, that appeared to have crashed into a pole, suffering major front-end damage. Victims were also seen being attended to by emergency personnel, with some on gurneys and others receiving care at the scene.

“The vehicle’s driver that struck the recruits was detained pending further investigation,” the department said in a press release.

The driver was identified as a 22-year-old man heading the wrong way on the street, according to Kelliher. His injuries were minor.

[news.yahoo.com]

This breaks my heart.

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Local coverage: [www.latimes.com]

This is interesting, as reports yesterday said there were no plans to cite or charge the driver, which seemed very odd to me.

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It is what it is.

Seeing that he passed a standard field sobriety test and blew a 0.0 on a PAS, I wondered what was up.

There was no mention of possible drug impairment, and any medical information couldn't be mentioned, but I considered this might not be an accident.

This morning at 1037hrs, LASD released an update via Twitter that the driver has been charged with attempted murder on a peace officer(s).

I haven't seen any more recent information.

[local.nixle.com]

[www.nbclosangeles.com]

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/17/2022 01:55PM by RAMd®d.

vehicle as weapon should be charged like any other lethal weapon.

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Hurts like a bastid...

The 22 year-old driver was today charged with attempted murder, it's the LASD so be careful what you believe.

As I was saying (about the LASD):

On Thursday, the sheriff's office said Gutierrez was being held on an attempted murder charge and held on $2 million bail. Jail records said Gutierrez had been released Thursday in accordance with a section of the California penal code that allows for an arrested person to be released due to insufficient grounds to file a complaint against the person.

Quote
RgrF
As I was saying (about the LASD):

On Thursday, the sheriff's office said Gutierrez was being held on an attempted murder charge and held on $2 million bail. Jail records said Gutierrez had been released Thursday in accordance with a section of the California penal code that allows for an arrested person to be released due to insufficient grounds to file a complaint against the person.

I get the feeling important information is missing from the story so far. This occurred at an intersection, so I'm assuming the driver hit the group from a side street rather than head-on or from behind. Furthermore, I'm assuming said side street was a one-way, otherwise the recruits or at least the safety vehicles would have looked both ways before proceeding through the intersection.

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Saw a video of it. Driver plowed head first into the runners at full speed going the wrong way.

On Thursday, the sheriff's office said Gutierrez was being held on an attempted murder charge and held on $2 million bail. Jail records said Gutierrez had been released Thursday in accordance with a section of the California penal code that allows for an arrested person to be released due to insufficient grounds to file a complaint against the person.

That would be 849b PC.


LASD or no:

Driver released from custody after arrest for Whittier crash that injured 25 recruits

WHITTIER, Calif. (KABC) -- A 22-year-old Diamond Bar man who authorities believe intentionally crashed into a group of law enforcement recruits was released from custody Thursday evening, according to jail records.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said the suspect was only released until investigators can develop more evidence and present a stronger case for prosecutors.

Nicholas Joseph Gutierrez was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder on peace officers for Wednesday's crash that injured 25 recruits, but jail records show he was released at 9:49 p.m. due to insufficient evidence a crime was committed.

"Due to the extreme complexity of the investigation, which includes ongoing interviews, video surveillance review, and additional evidence needed to be analyzed, homicide investigators have released Mr. Gutierrez from the Sheriff's Department custody," a news release from authorities said.

More at [abc7.com]

So the investigation is on going, and releasing Gutierrez is the right and legal thing to do.

They couldn't hold him in custody for the length of time it will take to complete the investigation, without more evidence.

Intent is almost always very difficult to prove.

The best a prosecutor can to is to convince a jury it's reasonable to assume, based on evidence presented, that intent has been proven, were intent is an element of the crime charged.

Given what we've been told, I've no problem with the arrest, or the release.

Zero (0.0) BAC, a mention of possible drug impairment but nothing further, no skid marks, no mention of medical issues, no indication the driver took any evasive action all lead me to strongly consider criminal intent.

I think it reasonable for LASD to consider it, jack-booted thugs or not.

Something later may change that completely, such as a mechanical problem with the SUV, but until then...

They now have Gutierrez's prints, mug shots, and DNA, so identifying him in the future wouldn't be an issue.

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

Latest LA Times coverage here.