Police have detained a 22-year-old motorist on charges of attempted murder after reportedly ramming into recruits for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Academy during a practice run, inflicting more than two dozen injuries.
Nicholas Joseph Gutierrez was taken into custody on Wednesday and charged with attempted murder of a peace officer, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reported in a statement on Thursday.
According to the authorities, an SUV driver in suburban Whittier swerved on the wrong side of the road early on Wednesday morning and struck recruits out for a morning run. Five of them had severe injuries.
The driver failed a field sobriety test, according to the authorities.
According to online jail records, Gutierrez is due in court on Friday.
It is currently unknown if Gutierrez has a lawyer to represent him in court.
The district attorney’s office in Los Angeles County received a communication.
Just before 6:30 a.m., roughly 75 recruits from the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and various neighborhood police departments were sprinting in formation down the street when the accident happened.
According to sheriff’s authorities, they were joined by eight road guards wearing fluorescent vests as a safety measure, two black and white radio cars, and people wearing white T-shirts and green shorts.
Deputies sought assistance from a nearby county fire station while also immediately taking some of the most seriously hurt people to hospitals.
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