LAS VEGAS (Scripps News Las Vegas) — A teen accused of intentionally driving into a line of stopped cars, killing three people, including a pregnant woman, was compared to a terrorist at a hearing on Tuesday.
19-year-old Jose Gutierrez returned to court for the first time since the third victim in the crash, Vanessa Lainez Vasquez, died.
Jose Gutierrez appears in court on Dec. 9, 2025. (Scripps News Las Vegas)
Gutierrez faces 10 felony charges, including open murder, after officials say he intentionally sped nearly 100 mph into a line of cars on Nov. 18.
The crash initially killed 38-year-old Edward Garcia and 20-year-old Adilene Duran-Rincon, Gutierrez’s girlfriend and passenger. Duran-Rincon was pregnant, according to her family.
One witness compared the scene to a suicide bomber.
“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. The way he drove into the cars is the way a terrorist drives into a military base,” said Assaf Cohen.
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Grant Black, who served as a police officer before moving to Las Vegas, quickly ran to the scene, calling on the first responder medical training he received from his police and military training.
LVMPD Officer Jacob Johnson said he made contact with Gutierrez at the hospital, and that the 19-year-old said he couldn’t remember much initially.
After a quick recess, testimony resumed with Dr. Keith Barry, a trauma surgeon who was working at University Medical Center on the day of the crash. Berry said three people involved in the crash were sent to UMC, including Gutierrez.
“Of the three that came in, he was the least injured,” Berry said.
He described Gutierrez as awake, alert and following commands but complaining of low to mid-back pain, some abdominal pain, and showing a deformity in his right arm that was later diagnosed as a broken wrist. Berry also said that Gutierrez ended up having rib fractures, as well as injuries to his liver, kidney and spleen.
Attorneys asked Berry for his medical opinion on seizures, which the defense has claimed Gutierrez experienced just before the crash.
Det. Paul Solomon, who investigates fatal collisions for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, was also called on to testify about the investigation. He spoke as an expert witness who has investigated hundreds of crashes throughout more than two decades with LVMPD.
Det. Mario Fernandez with LVMPD’s Traffic Bureau Fatal Detail testified as an expert witness and lead investigator of the crash scene. He spoke on investigation procedures, crash-scene reconstruction, and witness interviews.
Gutierrez is due back in court for arraignment on Thursday, Dec. 11.
