Las Vegas police: Driver ‘intentionally’ caused deadly 12-car crash that killed pregnant girlfriend

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The 19-year-old accused of causing a 12-car collision on Tuesday accelerated to 71 mph and intentionally caused the crash that killed his pregnant girlfriend and another driver, police allege in documents the 8 News Now Investigators obtained Friday.

Jose Gutierrez initially faced four counts of reckless driving resulting in death or substantial bodily harm, records said. On Thursday, prosecutors upgraded his charges to two counts of open murder, one count of attempted murder, and battery with the use of a deadly weapon, records said.

Gutierrez appeared in court for the first time on Friday with his arm in a cast. The judge denied setting bail due to the two counts of murder.

The 12-car crash happened around 3:30 p.m. at the intersection of Cheyenne Avenue and Jones Boulevard in the northwest valley. Gutierrez’s passenger, Adilene Duran Rincon, 20, was killed in the crash, along with another driver, Edward Garcia, 38. The Clark County coroner’s office confirmed the identities on Wednesday.

Rincon was three months pregnant, her family confirmed and documents said. She and Gutierrez had dated for two years.

Video the 8 News Now Investigators obtained Thursday shows the car speeding toward the intersection, where several vehicles are waiting on Cheyenne Avenue at a red light. The speeding vehicle then collides with several cars — one spins around as flames erupt and lands in the intersection.

Documents the 8 News Now Investigators obtained on Friday show Gutierrez was speeding at 71 mph “in a nearly straight line” toward the red light at the time of the first impact, documents said. Data from the car showed he accelerated rapidly from 9 mph within five seconds.

Gutierrez, who did not remember the collision itself, told officers he had not consumed alcohol or marijuana in the past week, though an officer noted Gutierrez displayed “bloodshot and watery” eyes. Gutierrez later told police he smoked his vape pen earlier in the day and that he suffers from seizures.

Officers located a marijuana vape pen in one of Gutierrez’s pockets, police said. Detectives initially believed Gutierrez may have been under the influence of marijuana at the time of the crash.

Blood tests showed Gutierrez had a trace amount of cannabinoids, essentially the remnants of marijuana, in his system after the crash. There was also a small amount of fentanyl in his system, though detectives could not rule out whether it was administered to him legally at the hospital.

“We believe that this act on the defendant’s part was intentional,” Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said after the hearing. “We believe he was not impaired by alcohol or drugs and therefore we believe on all the evidence to date, including a very descriptive video, that his actions were intentional, which gives rise to a charge of murder.

Wolfson said prosecutors and police were investigating a possible motive.

On Oct. 3, a Metro police officer cited Gutierrez for speeding in the northwest valley near Lone Mountain Road and El Capitan Way, according to a copy of the ticket the 8 News Now Investigators obtained.

The car Gutierrez was driving in both incidents is registered to Rincon’s mother, documents said.

The officer cited Gutierrez for driving 52 mph in a 35-mph zone. Gutierrez was not scheduled to appear in court for the ticket or pay it off until Jan. 5. The ticket was reduced to a violation of 40 mph in a 35-mph zone.

Police also arrested him in April after a woman called 911, saying Gutierrez hit her, documents said. According to an arrest report the 8 News Now Investigators obtained on Wednesday, Gutierrez threatened a responding officer, telling him, “I’ll [expletive] shoot you” and “I’ll kill you.”

Gutierrez originally faced a felony charge of intimidating a public officer with force, documents said. In June, he pleaded no contest to a lesser misdemeanor charge of resisting a public officer. A judge ordered him to attend eight hours of impulse control counseling, which Gutierrez completed in September, records said.

Gutierrez was scheduled to return to court next week as his lawyer requested a continuance to Friday’s hearing.

8 News Now Investigator David Charns can be reached at dcharns@8newsnow.com.

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