Nicholas Joseph Gutierrez was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of attempted murder of peace officers after 25 recruits suffered minor to serious injuries, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Additional charges are currently pending, authorities said, and the case is expected to be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office on Friday. A Sheriff’s Department detective told Eyewitness News the act is believed to be intentional after more interviews, video and physical evidence were collected. Sheriff Alex Villanueva previously ruled the crash an accident, however, authorities say that was based on preliminary information as authorities continued to investigate. Further evidence gathered led them to believe that the suspect intentionally struck the group. The incident unfolded early Wednesday morning in the South Whittier area near Mills Avenue and Trumball Street. Villanueva said a class of about 75 recruits was on a run as part of a training exercise when the driver crashed into the group. The crash left the 25 recruits with injuries ranging from head trauma to limb loss. At last check, someone remains hospitalized on a ventilator. A total of five recruits are currently hospitalized in a critical condition, four are hospitalized with “moderate” injuries and 16 have minor injuries. Surveillance of the incident recorded from a nearby yard shows the group of recruits running in tight formation along the road, accompanied by two cruisers in the rear of the columns. The SUV is driving on the left side of the road and does not appear to slow down or swerve as it heads directly for the jogging group. The video shows SUVs colliding with recruits In fact, there were indications the driver may have been speeding just before the crash, Villanueva said. “Some recruits say they heard the car speed up, they estimate about 30 to 40 miles per hour,” the sheriff said. “You can see how little reaction time allows someone.” There were no indications of obstacles or other vehicles on the road that would trigger the driver’s behavior. The Honda SUV also rammed into a light pole and toppled it after hitting the recruits. “There was a light pole on the east side of the road and the only thing that was communicated to me was, ‘Thank God for that light pole,’ because the vehicle eventually hit it and stopped, instead of possibly hitting more recruits,” he said. LASD Capt. Pat MacDonald, who heads the department’s education office. Villanueva said the recruits come from many different agencies, including the Bell, Glendale, Pasadena, El Segundo and UCLA police departments. The rest were at the sheriff’s department. The driver was slightly injured, according to the Fire Department. Villanueva said the driver was given a field sobriety test shortly after the crash and “blew a 0.0.” The test does not rule out drugs, but Villanueva said the official cause of the incident remains unknown. The five seriously injured patients were sent to different area hospitals, including UCI Medical Center, St. Francis Medical Center, LAC+USC Medical Center and PIH Health Whittier Hospital. “Luckily, every class, we usually have EMTs, I think this class even had an RN that was a new recruit, so they were able to provide first aid on the spot with the equipment they had,” Villanueva said. “They came through, ran to the fire station and knocked on the door because it was literally only half a block away. That was also lucky, so things happened that worked out in our favor.” WARNING: Sheriff says injuries range from broken bones to lost limbs Former Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna, who will succeed Villanueva as sheriff, released a statement saying, “I am devastated and praying for the recruits who were injured this morning after being hit by a vehicle in Whittier. I want to offer terms of support to the Sheriff and Chiefs of Police from Los Angeles County agencies, their departments and the families of those injured at this difficult time.” Earlier Wednesday, as the scene unfolded, the AIR7 HD captured more than a dozen sheriff’s units along with several fire trucks and ambulances at the scene. First responders were seen treating recruits in the middle of the road and loading several others into ambulances. A man who lives in the area said he woke up after hearing the crash and ran outside. “I walk out to see people on the floor … it was really crazy,” said the witness, who wanted to be identified only as Joseph. “Everybody was kind of panicking, the wires were on fire and the car was smoking … it was a really picturesque scene.” Joseph said he and several other neighbors rushed to help some of the recruits by giving them water and towels. “The car was completely destroyed, as was the whole front end,” he said. “The light pole was on the floor… it was like three or four neighbors out because this had happened before. We’ve lived here for 10 years. It’s happened before like when a car crashes into a gate, but this was like… nobody he could never imagine this happening.” ATTENTION: Witness recalls seeing some recruits with leg injuries, blood on face Joseph described the mass scene as “surreal” and said he saw several patients with serious injuries. “There were so many people. They were all kind of in various states, some unconscious, some still conscious, some with really bad cuts on their legs. There were people bleeding from their faces. The sheriff’s academy… like running through here all the time so you kind of feel connected to them,” Joseph said. “So it was really crazy to wake up to.” Authorities said the traffic division of the investigation is being handled by the California Highway Patrol. Gutierrez, who is from Diamond Bar, was reportedly cooperating with authorities. He is currently being held on $2 million bail. Want to read this article in Spanish? Click here Copyright © 2022 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.
