(NewsNation) — Authorities are working to gather more evidence about a Wednesday incident involving a 22-year-old driver who was caught on camera driving an SUV into a group of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Academy recruits.
The collision occurred just before 6:30 a.m. PT. The group of 75 recruits from different agencies were jogging when a driver traveling on the wrong side of the road accelerated to about 40 mph and plowed into the group, the LA County Sheriff’s Department has said.
A total of 25 recruits were injured, some critically, NewsNation local affiliate KTLA reported.
The driver investigators believe is responsible was released from police custody Thursday.
The investigation is ongoing. Here’s what NewsNation has learned so far:
Driver released
The driver was released from custody Thursday evening. The situation remains under investigation, however, while authorities work to gather more information.
What we know about the driver
Officials found marijuana in the SUV at the time crash. Gutierrez’s passed a field sobriety test, sources told the Los Angeles Times.
He was released from custody Thursday evening, based on a California rule that allows officers to release someone when where are insufficient grounds to file a complaint against them. Essentially, the LAPD didn’t have enough evidence to keep Gutierrez in police custody, although it was not immediately clear what additional information or evidence they might need to do so.
The law that was cited as the basis for Gutierrez’s release, according to KTLA, states “that a peace officer may release from custody…any person arrested without a warrant whenever:
- He or she is satisfied that there are insufficient grounds for making a criminal complaint against the person arrested;
- The person was arrested for intoxication only, and no further proceedings are desirable; or
- The person was arrested only for being under the influence of a controlled substance or drug and such person is delivered to a facility or hospital for treatment and no further proceedings are desirable.”
How serious were the injures
The driver suffered only minor injuries.
Officials said Friday that three recruits remained in critical condition. One was on life support with serious brain bleeding and swelling. Both recruits suffered multiple leg fractures, he said.
What to know
The collision happened Wednesday morning in South Whittier, California and injured 25 law enforcement recruits. Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva has said the crash was not an accident.
The driver, Nicholas Joseph Gutierrez, 22, was released from custody Thursday evening, per a California penal code that authorizes peace officers to release arrested persons from custody due to insufficient grounds to file a complaint against that person, NewsNation local affiliate KTLA reported.