LA man who killed police cadet in wrong-way crash withdraws guilty plea after facing jail time

The California driver who admitted to mowing down 75 sheriff’s recruits on an early morning jog — killing one and leaving several others as amputees — withdrew his guilty plea Friday after learning it meant spending a year behind bars.

Nicholas Joseph Gutierrez, 25, had been poised to avoid a jail stint as part of a plea deal until a Los Angeles judge nixed the agreement after hearing emotional testimony from those whose lives were dramatically altered by the 2022 crash, the LA Times reported.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Laura Walton told Gutierrez she would only accept his plea deal if he spent a year in county jail.

Gutierrez’s lawyers, however, said the judge’s about face was a dealbreaker and withdrew his admission — meaning the case will now head to trial.

He pleaded guilty last month to one felony count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and nine felony counts of reckless driving on a highway causing a specified injury as part of a bargain that suspended the court-imposed eight-year prison sentence.

Instead, he would have been placed on probation for five years, an arrangement ex-LA Sheriff Alex Villanueva slammed as “an insult to the families of those who died.”

Alexandra Kazarian, Gutierrez’s lawyer, argued Friday that her client suffered from an undiagnosed neurological disorder and may have experienced a seizure at the time of the deadly collision.

Gutierrez had previously claimed he feel asleep at the wheel.

Kazarian did not immediately respond to The Post’s requests for further comment.

Witnesses at the time said Gutierrez’s SUV was traveling between 30 and 40 mph when it swerved onto the wrong side of the road and plowed into the group of recruits that were jogging as part of their training at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department academy.

A total of 25 cadets sustained injuries, with 10 seriously injured and several losing limbs.

Alejandro Martinez-Inzunza died eight months later from his injuries.

Villanueva initially alleged the crash was intentional, but detectives later ruled there was no evidence to support his claims.

Gutierrez is due back in court Aug. 26 for a pretrial hearing.