RIO RANCHO, N.M. – A volleyball club in Rio Rancho is suffering an unimaginable loss after two of their coaches were hit by a drunk driver on July 1, 2024.

Tiger Gutierrez died as a result of the crash, while the passenger in the vehicle, Mia, is still in the hospital.

According to the criminal complaint, the crash happened shortly after midnight at the intersection of Coors and Montano.

Police said Jesus Sandoval-Martinez was behind the wheel of a pickup and appeared intoxicated when he ran the red light.

Witnesses said he tried to run away from the crash scene, but police were able to chase him down and arrest him. He faces charges of vehicular homicide, reckless driving, and leaving the scene of an accident.

A judge ruled Sandoval-Martinez will remain in custody until his detention hearing. Meanwhile, the coaches and players at E3 Volleyball Club are honoring Gutierrez.

“Sports really connect people in all ways and at our club all of our coaches and players are family, and Tiger was a big part of that family,” said Christa Faris, the owner and club operator of E3 Volleyball.

Gutierrez was only 22 years old, and many athletes and coaches said he gave all of his extra time to E3VB and his athletes.

“Tiger was just special, he was here all the time. He was selfless, he was kind, he had such a deep passion that he inspired all the kids around him to play,” said Faris.

She went on to say that Mia is recovering in the hospital after multiple brain surgeries and will take some time to recover.

The boys’ volleyball team just came back from nationals this past week. Faris said while it was difficult, Gutierrez would have wanted them to play.

“We’ve had a lot of meetings with players from teams, my boys got together before we went to nationals, and we had a really long talk. We put tiger lilies in our backpacks and spent a lot of time talking about what Tiger meant to him and the boys will be speaking at his memorial,” said Faris.

On Friday at 3 p.m. they will open their Volleyball Club off Southern to the community for his memorial.

“We are very honored to have his memorial here. it is a little unusual to do that but, in his situation, the most appropriate thing,” said Faris.

They are also hosting a tournament on Saturday to raise money for both Tiger and Mia’s families.

The club will have three rounds for different levels of players, starting at 9 a.m.

“We felt like it would be healing for everybody to come and play and to do the thing that tiger loved most,” said Faris.

Those who would like to participate in the tournament can register for the three categories below:

• ‘Just For Fun’ 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
• ‘Junior Girls/Boys 14 and Under’ 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
• ‘Competitive Coed’ 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. 

Families have set up a GoFundMe page for Tiger’s mother, and another page to help Maria on her road to recover.