Atascadero man sentenced to seven years for deadly hit-and-run
June 26, 2025
Zachary Bernal
By KAREN VELIE
A 31-year-old Atascadero man was sentenced to seven years in prison on Wednesday for a hit-and-run crash that killed an 11-year-old boy in March.
Zachary Bernal pleaded to charges of vehicular manslaughter, narcotics possession, and hit-and-run resulting in death. Bernal cried as he spoke of his quilt and shame. He said he would trade places with José Gutiérrez if he could.
After school on March 14, Gutiérrez was walking home on the 1080 block of El Camino Real when a truck drove onto the sidewalk and hit him, police said. Before he was struck and killed, Gutiérrez warned two of his friends to get out of the way.
Bernal then fled the scene.
On the evening of March 14, Atascadero police officers arrested Bernal.
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