Driver who struck LA sheriff’s recruits in deadly crash pleads not guilty to vehicular manslaughter

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A driver who plowed into a group of Los Angeles County sheriff’s recruits on a training run last year, killing one and injuring two dozen others, has pleaded not guilty to vehicular manslaughter. Nicholas Gutierrez also pleaded not guilty Tuesday to reckless driving that severely injured nine victims. He is free on bail. The 23-year-old Diamond Bar man says he fell asleep at the wheel before the November 2022 crash in the Whittier area. Authorities say his SUV veered onto the wrong side of the street and plowed into a group of about 75 recruits from the Sheriff’s Department and other police agencies. One victim, Alejandro Martinez-Inzunza, was hospitalized for eight months before dying from his injuries in July.