Teen’s 100 mph Crash Leaves Pregnant Girlfriend Dead: Murder Charges Stand Firm

A Las Vegas judge has ruled that a Nevada teenager accused of deliberately causing a devastating 12-car collision must face murder charges. This tragic accident, allegedly initiated by the teen, resulted in the deaths of his pregnant girlfriend and two other individuals.

Jose Gutierrez, aged 19, is accused of driving his Infiniti at a staggering 100 mph in a 45 mph zone when he collided with vehicles halted at a red light. His request to dismiss the charges was denied on Wednesday. Gutierrez faces charges including murder with a deadly weapon, reckless driving leading to death, attempted murder with a deadly weapon, and battery. The crash claimed the lives of Adilene Rincon, 20, Edward Garcia, 38, and Vanessa Vasquez, 25.

During the court proceedings, Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney Nicholas Portz highlighted the implications of Gutierrez’s actions, as reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “His intent is evident from the circumstances,” Portz stated.

Portz argued, as covered by local ABC affiliate KTNV, that Gutierrez’s actions were deliberate. “Driving in a straight line towards stationary vehicles requires a level of intent akin to pulling a trigger in a first-degree murder scenario. There’s no other rational conclusion from his behavior than his intention to crash into the vehicles.”

According to court documents, Gutierrez “accelerated at full throttle for nearly a mile, reaching speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour, and drove directly and deliberately into a queue of cars stopped at a red light, without attempting to brake or swerve,” causing fatalities and severe injuries, the Review-Journal reported. He is currently detained without bail, facing serious felony charges.

Portz further illustrated the severity of Gutierrez’s actions by sharing a witness account from the courtroom, as filmed by KTNV. A witness likened the crash’s impact to experiences in the Middle East, comparing it to a terrorist attack where a vehicle-borne explosive device is driven into a target.

“He said, ‘I’ve seen accidents before, you see them swerving or attempting to avoid the accident, none of that happened with this guy,’” Portz recounted. “He drove straight, head on, into these people at full speed.”

Prosecutors said that after his arrest, Gutierrez was “not impaired by alcohol or drugs” when he caused the crash, according to local NBC affiliate KSNV. He was allegedly driving a silver 2011 Infiniti G37 with Rincon, 20, his pregnant girlfriend riding with him as a passenger. The other victims, Garcia and Vasquez, were drivers at the red light; Garcia died at the scene and Vasquez succumbed to her injuries several weeks later after being hospitalized.

“The only thing I’ve seen close to that — I was in two wars, I’m from the Middle East originally, I’m from Israel, I’ve seen a lot of terror suicide bombers — that was the closest thing,” alleged witness Assaf Cohen at a December hearing, according to KTNV. “The way he drove into the cars is the way a terrorist drives into a military base.”

Gutierrez’s defense attorney, Thomas Moskal, argued in court filings and at Wednesday’s hearing that the murder charges should be dismissed due to a lack of evidence showing the teen’s intent.

“At the preliminary hearing on this matter, the state was unable to provide any evidence that would support a reasonable inference that [Gutierrez] acted with willfulness, deliberation or premeditation in the instant vehicle collision,” Moskal wrote in one filing, according to the Review-Journal.

“The assumption that [Gutierrez’s] driving conduct alone illustrates these actions is unreasonable, weak and speculative,” Moskal insisted. “Similarly, the state did not provide any evidence of express or implied malice or a conscious disregard for human lives on the part of the [Gutierrez].”

In court on Wednesday, Moskal argued that it “would have been different if they uncovered some kind of motive or some evidence of intent, but the single inference they’re relying on is, ‘Judge, allow this to proceed to jury trial on first-degree murder because he was driving fast, he didn’t brake, and he crashed into some cars.’”

District Judge Michelle Leavitt disagreed and reportedly denied the request to dismiss Gutierrez’s murder charges immediately after the arguments were made.

Court records obtained by KTNV show that Gutierrez was cited for speeding in October after police caught him going 52 mph in a 35 mph zone. He was also arrested in April for intimidating a police officer who responded to a report of a woman claiming she was hit by Gutierrez.

“What’s up foo,” Gutierrez allegedly told the cop.

“I’ll f—ing shoot you,” he said, according to court documents. “I’ll kill you.”

Gutierrez is due back in court on March 4.