Rio Rancho volleyball club raises money after drunk driver kills young coach, injures another

22-year-old Rio Rancho volleyball coach killed by drunk driver in Albuquerque

A three-car crash on July 1 in Albuquerque caused by a suspected drunk driver resulted in th…

E3 Volleyball New Mexico, a club based in Rio Rancho, hosted a fundraising event July 13 for two coaches who were in a deadly car crash caused by a suspected drunk driver.

Tiger Gutierrez, a 22-year-old coach at E3 Volleyball New Mexico in Rio Rancho, died in the July 1 crash at the intersection of Coors Boulevard and Montano Road NW. Mia Montoya, who also coaches at E3, was injured in the crash.

On July 12, E3 hosted a memorial service for Gutierrez. The next day, players, coaches and members of the community came together to play in his honor.

“He was an incredible young man with a wonderful future ahead of him,” E3 Volleyball Director Christa Faris said. “His family had his memorial at E3 because it was his home away from home, and we had over 500 people come out to show their love and support. He will be dearly missed.”

Gutierrez, a student at the University of New Mexico, started playing volleyball at Rio Rancho’s The ASK Academy in high school. Because Gutierrez went to a charter school, he was allowed to play other varsity sports like soccer, wrestling and track, at Rio Rancho High School. Gutierrez started playing at E3 his senior year of high school with the U16-18 girls teams during summer clinics. He started coaching at E3 in2023 and found a love for coaching.

Police arrested Jesus Sandoval-Martinez, 21, and charged him with two counts of vehicular homicide (DWI), reckless driving, leaving the scene of an accident (great bodily harm or death) and failure to obey traffic control devices/signs after the crash.

The investigation into the crash showed that a gray Dodge Dakota truck driven by Sandoval-Martinez was traveling northbound on Coors Boulevard in the middle lane at a high rate of speed and ran a red light.

Police said the truck collided with Gutierrez’s black Tesla and a Toyota Corolla that were heading westbound on Montano Road. According to court documents, Sandoval-Martinez fled the scene on foot. Bystanders and witnesses followed him to a nearby Walgreens and restrained him until police arrived.

Officers who responded to the crash scene reported seeing empty beer cans in Sandoval-Martinez’s vehicle.

Gutierrez died at the hospital, while Montoya was severely injured.

“Losing Tiger was a monumental loss for our club and the community in general,” Faris said. “He was very passionate and gave 100% of his time to the sport. He was kind, warm-hearted and lived joyously. In general, we need more positive role models and passionate coaches at our club and involved in youth sports.”

E3 Volleyball is still asking for donations. A GoFundMe for Gutierrez’s family has been set up. Montoya’s recovery fund can be found here.