A wrong-way driver accused of crashing into a group of 75 Los Angeles County sheriff's recruits out on a run earlier this week was released after he was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder of peace officers.
Nichola Joseph Gutierrez, 22, was released shortly before 10 p.m. Thursday following his arrest the previous day, the Los Angeles Times reports. Despite the release, an investigation is still building a case, and the department believes it will eventually present evidence to the district attorney's office.
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“The evidence is there,” department spokesman said Sgt. Gerardo Magos. “We just want to make sure it’s properly presented.”
Sheriff Alex Villanueva told the Times that authorities had probable cause to arrest Gutierrez and that there is evidence that the crash was deliberate. However, Villanueva didn't reveal why that evidence hasn't been brought before the district attorney yet.
“They went through an exhaustive interview process with everyone involved, with the video surveillance, the statements from the recruits, the physical evidence they have and what they got from the suspect himself, and they were able to form the opinion this was a deliberate act,” the sheriff told NewsNation on Thursday.
Roughly 75 Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department recruits were running in four columns early Wednesday near the department's STARS Center Academy in Whittier, as drill instructors and two radio cars kept pace. That's when a Honda CRV driven by Gutierrez ran into the group, injuring 25 recruits.
“There was so many bodies scattered everywhere in different states of injury that it was pretty traumatic for all individuals involved,” said Villanueva. He called the injuries, which included head trauma and lost limbs, “life-altering.” Five recruits were in critical condition after the crash, and more than a dozen others suffered minor to moderate injuries.
Five recruits were critically injured, and over a dozen suffered minor and moderate injuries. Seven recruits were still hospitalized Thursday night. Two were still in critical condition and one had surgery for leg fractures.
