The material, however, still leaves one key question unanswered: Why? WARNING: Video is graphic and has been edited for broadcast purposes. From a nearby resident’s yard, it shows a group of several dozen recruits wearing white T-shirts jogging in tight formation alongside a residential street. Two patrol cars accompany them from behind. There is little traffic on the road. Suddenly, a Honda SUV appears driving on the left side of the road and heads straight for the front of the group, with no visible sign that it has attempted to slow down or swerve. In fact, the driver may have been speeding just before the crash, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said. “Some recruits say they heard the car speed up, they estimate about 30 to 40 miles per hour,” the sheriff said. “You can see how little reaction time allows someone.” The video provides no evidence of any obstruction or other clear reason why the driver was on the wrong side of the road and continued into the path of the jogging recruits. The vehicle clipped the recruits and then hit a utility pole, sending up clouds of smoke and sending people and debris flying. The video also shows the aftermath, in which other recruits rushed to help. The group was also accompanied by police in patrol cars and they stopped to help as well. First responders were also quickly on the scene from a nearby fire station. Authorities say the group’s injuries ranged from head trauma and broken bones to the loss of limbs. At least one recruit was hospitalized in critical condition. The driver, a 22-year-old man, had no evidence of alcohol in his system, authorities said. AIR7 HD observed officers making the driver walk for a field sobriety test. They are still investigating the cause of the collision. Wrong-way driver crashes into group of law enforcement recruits jogging in Whittier Copyright © 2022 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.
