Josh Nieto-Cruz\u2019s vacation had just begun. It was Memorial Day 2025, and the then-18-year-old had rented a jet ski to cruise around Bartlett Lake, in the Tonto National Forest northeast of Fountain Hills. He\u2019d been on the water for about 10 minutes when he cruised closer to shore to look for his family near SB Cove beach.<\/p>\n
Realizing he\u2019d gone too far, he began to turn around. Then \u2014 CRASH \u2014 a boat driven by a Maricopa County Sheriff\u2019s deputy slammed into him, throwing him from his jet ski, taking big chunks out of his leg and arm and, eventually, sending him to the hospital for two days.<\/p>\n
An incident report authored by a sheriff\u2019s office investigator placed blame for the accident on Nieto-Cruz, who was a boating novice. But Nieto-Cruz disagrees. He\u2019s now suing the Maricopa County Sheriff\u2019s Office<\/a> in county superior court.<\/p>\nCrucial to that claim is drone footage of the crash, which shows Nieto-Cruz slowing to a near-stop before beginning to change direction. At the same time, a 23-foot sheriff\u2019s office vessel, piloted by deputy John Farnsworth, can be seen booking it at a rapid speed across the water toward Nieto-Cruz, slowing only at the last second in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid a collision.<\/p>\nSign up for the News newsletter to get the latest stories delivered to your inbox<\/p>\nTHANK YOU!<\/p>\nYou’re all set.<\/p>\nCLOSE\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\na video showing a crash between a jetskiier and a sheriff\u2019s office boat at bartlett lake<\/p>\n\u201cYou can see that my client is moving at a relatively low speed. You can see that the MCSO boat is approaching at a very high speed,\u201d said Mick Levin, the attorney representing Nieto-Cruz in the case. \u201cMy client\u2019s opportunity to avoid this was relatively small, given the speed he was going and the direction of travel. But that deputy\u2019s boat was moving very, very fast.\u201d<\/p>\nThe sheriff\u2019s office declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing pending litigation. A spokesperson did not respond to a question about whether Farnsworth had been internally investigated for his role in the accident and whether any discipline has been leveled against him.<\/p>\nNieto-Cruz is asking a judge to award him a variety of damages over the crash. In a September notice of claim sent to the sheriff\u2019s office \u2014 prepared by a different attorney, who has since handed off the case to Levin \u2014 Nieto-Cruz demanded $4 million to settle the matter out of court. That included more than $130,000 for medical expenses.<\/p>\nJosh-Nieto Cruz signed to play community college soccer but has not taken the field after being hit by a Maricopa County Sheriff\u2019s Office boat in May 2025.<\/p>\n\u2018Faster than I would even thought\u2019<\/p>\nThe sequence of events leading up to the crash is laid out in a 52-page incident report authored by sheriff\u2019s office investigators. The report was provided to Phoenix New Times by Levin.<\/p>\nPer the report, Farnsworth and two other deputies on his watercraft noticed Nieto-Cruz traveling too fast on his jet ski inside an area of the lake designated for traveling at a wakeless speed \u2014 essentially, going slow enough that a craft doesn\u2019t create any waves. After passing Nieto-Cruz going in the opposite direction, Farnsworth turned his boat around to pursue him, intending to \u201cmake contact with the jet ski operator and provide education on wake zones.\u201d<\/p>\nAs the sheriff\u2019s office boat made that U-turn, Nieto-Cruz had slowed to a near-stop to scan the shore, looking for his family. Not spotting them, he began to flip direction just as Farnsworth\u2019s boat came speeding at him, leading to the crash.<\/p>\nDeputies pulled him screaming from the water, with gashes in his right arm and leg. Body-worn camera footage reviewed by a sheriff\u2019s office investigator showed deputies blaming Nieto-Cruz for the collision.<\/p>\n\u201cYou were going way too fast,\u201d deputy Austin Hermes could be heard telling him. \u201cWe were trying to come contact you and you turned right in front of the boat.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cI was just looking for my family and I did not see you guys coming,\u201d Nieto-Cruz replied, as deputies wrapped his injuries in gauze. \u201cWas that my fault, sir?\u201d<\/p>\nThe incident report prepared by sheriff\u2019s office investigators suggests that it was, although the report \u2014 and the video of the incident \u2014 sometimes undercuts the notion that Farnsworth couldn\u2019t have avoided the crash. The report notes that Nieto-Cruz showed no signs of impairment, but also repeatedly states that he was observed traveling \u201cabove a wakeless speed\u201d in an area of the lake where it was prohibited. It also notes that Nieto-Cruz apparently did not look for boat traffic before turning his jet ski around and steering into the path of Farnsworth\u2019s boat.<\/p>\nBut the report also suggests in places that Farnsworth wasn\u2019t aware of his speed as he made a beeline toward Nieto-Cruz. When asked by an investigator if he knew how fast he was traveling, Farnsworth replied, \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d Later, when shown the drone footage of the crash, Farnsworth told an investigator that it appeared he was going \u201ca little bit faster than I would (have) even thought I was going,\u201d explaining that \u201cI was trying to catch up to him.\u201d<\/p>\nThough Nieto-Cruz\u2019s notice of claim suggested that Farnsworth \u201cdid not avoid Josh\u2019s path\u201d and hit him at full speed, the video shows the boat slowing slightly at the point of impact. Additionally, body-cam footage reviewed by investigators showed Farnsworth attempting to steer away from Nieto-Cruz and \u201cmoving the throttle down at a quick rate.\u201d<\/p>\nIn a final case summary on the crash, sheriff\u2019s deputy Jacob Bowes still put the weight of the crash mostly on Nieto-Cruz, writing that \u201cthe collision would not have<\/strong> occurred\u201d (bold in original) had Nieto-Cruz \u201cnot accelerated into the pathway\u201d of Farnsworth. However, Bowes added that \u201cthe collision may not have<\/strong> occurred\u201d had Farnsworth \u201cbeen traveling at a lesser speed.\u201d<\/p>\nAfter being run over by a Maricopa County Sheriff\u2019s Office boat in May 2025, Josh Nieto-Cruz suffered a deep laceration to his knee that required sutures.<\/p>\nBrutal injuries<\/p>\nPer the incident report, Nieto-Cruz suffered a six- or seven-inch laceration to the right knee that was nearly four inches wide, as well as a cut to his right forearm. Photos of his injuries, provided by his attorney, are gruesome. The laceration on his knee went deep into the muscle.<\/p>\nThe teen was taken to HonorHealth Deer Valley Medical Center, where he spent two days, according to his notice of claim. He received sutures and had to use a walker when he was discharged. The notice of claim says he incurred $130,519 in medical expenses as a result of the accident.<\/p>\nHis injuries dramatically altered his lifestyle, the notice of claim says. Nieto-Cruz played soccer before the accident, signing to play at the community college level for GateWay College. He was listed on GateWay\u2019s roster<\/a> for the 2025 season but did not play in a single game. Nieto-Cruz also helped his dad on the weekends, his claim states, and \u201cwas scheduled to begin employment at an Amazon warehouse within days of the accident but was unable to start the position because of physical limitations.\u201d His family also canceled a planned summer vacation because of his injuries.<\/p>\n\u201cHe still has pain,\u201d Levin said. \u201cHe has a very disfiguring scar. He has some loss of the ability to move and function as well as he did.\u201d<\/p>\nNo hearings have been scheduled in the lawsuit and the sheriff\u2019s office has not yet responded in court. Should the case go to trial, Levin predicts the video of the crash will show jurors all they need to know.<\/p>\n\u201cHad the deputy been paying attention to his surroundings, observed the vessel that my client was on and my client sooner, this wouldn\u2019t have happened,\u201d he said. \u201cI get that they came to the conclusion that my client, somehow or another, accelerated into their vehicle. But they were moving so fast, they couldn\u2019t have avoided it, given how fast they were going. It does seem to me it was reckless speed, given the circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Josh Nieto-Cruz\u2019s vacation had just begun. It was Memorial Day 2025, and the then-18-year-old had rented a jet…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":782309,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5131],"tags":[5229,5643,1587,1589,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-782308","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-phoenix","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-arizona","10":"tag-az","11":"tag-phoenix","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-united-states-of-america","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","16":"tag-us","17":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116539900193550576","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=782308"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782308\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/782309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=782308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=782308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=782308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Crucial to that claim is drone footage of the crash, which shows Nieto-Cruz slowing to a near-stop before beginning to change direction. At the same time, a 23-foot sheriff\u2019s office vessel, piloted by deputy John Farnsworth, can be seen booking it at a rapid speed across the water toward Nieto-Cruz, slowing only at the last second in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid a collision.<\/p>\n
Sign up for the News newsletter to get the latest stories delivered to your inbox<\/p>\n
THANK YOU!<\/p>\n
You’re all set.<\/p>\n
CLOSE\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
a video showing a crash between a jetskiier and a sheriff\u2019s office boat at bartlett lake<\/p>\n\u201cYou can see that my client is moving at a relatively low speed. You can see that the MCSO boat is approaching at a very high speed,\u201d said Mick Levin, the attorney representing Nieto-Cruz in the case. \u201cMy client\u2019s opportunity to avoid this was relatively small, given the speed he was going and the direction of travel. But that deputy\u2019s boat was moving very, very fast.\u201d<\/p>\nThe sheriff\u2019s office declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing pending litigation. A spokesperson did not respond to a question about whether Farnsworth had been internally investigated for his role in the accident and whether any discipline has been leveled against him.<\/p>\nNieto-Cruz is asking a judge to award him a variety of damages over the crash. In a September notice of claim sent to the sheriff\u2019s office \u2014 prepared by a different attorney, who has since handed off the case to Levin \u2014 Nieto-Cruz demanded $4 million to settle the matter out of court. That included more than $130,000 for medical expenses.<\/p>\nJosh-Nieto Cruz signed to play community college soccer but has not taken the field after being hit by a Maricopa County Sheriff\u2019s Office boat in May 2025.<\/p>\n\u2018Faster than I would even thought\u2019<\/p>\nThe sequence of events leading up to the crash is laid out in a 52-page incident report authored by sheriff\u2019s office investigators. The report was provided to Phoenix New Times by Levin.<\/p>\nPer the report, Farnsworth and two other deputies on his watercraft noticed Nieto-Cruz traveling too fast on his jet ski inside an area of the lake designated for traveling at a wakeless speed \u2014 essentially, going slow enough that a craft doesn\u2019t create any waves. After passing Nieto-Cruz going in the opposite direction, Farnsworth turned his boat around to pursue him, intending to \u201cmake contact with the jet ski operator and provide education on wake zones.\u201d<\/p>\nAs the sheriff\u2019s office boat made that U-turn, Nieto-Cruz had slowed to a near-stop to scan the shore, looking for his family. Not spotting them, he began to flip direction just as Farnsworth\u2019s boat came speeding at him, leading to the crash.<\/p>\nDeputies pulled him screaming from the water, with gashes in his right arm and leg. Body-worn camera footage reviewed by a sheriff\u2019s office investigator showed deputies blaming Nieto-Cruz for the collision.<\/p>\n\u201cYou were going way too fast,\u201d deputy Austin Hermes could be heard telling him. \u201cWe were trying to come contact you and you turned right in front of the boat.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cI was just looking for my family and I did not see you guys coming,\u201d Nieto-Cruz replied, as deputies wrapped his injuries in gauze. \u201cWas that my fault, sir?\u201d<\/p>\nThe incident report prepared by sheriff\u2019s office investigators suggests that it was, although the report \u2014 and the video of the incident \u2014 sometimes undercuts the notion that Farnsworth couldn\u2019t have avoided the crash. The report notes that Nieto-Cruz showed no signs of impairment, but also repeatedly states that he was observed traveling \u201cabove a wakeless speed\u201d in an area of the lake where it was prohibited. It also notes that Nieto-Cruz apparently did not look for boat traffic before turning his jet ski around and steering into the path of Farnsworth\u2019s boat.<\/p>\nBut the report also suggests in places that Farnsworth wasn\u2019t aware of his speed as he made a beeline toward Nieto-Cruz. When asked by an investigator if he knew how fast he was traveling, Farnsworth replied, \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d Later, when shown the drone footage of the crash, Farnsworth told an investigator that it appeared he was going \u201ca little bit faster than I would (have) even thought I was going,\u201d explaining that \u201cI was trying to catch up to him.\u201d<\/p>\nThough Nieto-Cruz\u2019s notice of claim suggested that Farnsworth \u201cdid not avoid Josh\u2019s path\u201d and hit him at full speed, the video shows the boat slowing slightly at the point of impact. Additionally, body-cam footage reviewed by investigators showed Farnsworth attempting to steer away from Nieto-Cruz and \u201cmoving the throttle down at a quick rate.\u201d<\/p>\nIn a final case summary on the crash, sheriff\u2019s deputy Jacob Bowes still put the weight of the crash mostly on Nieto-Cruz, writing that \u201cthe collision would not have<\/strong> occurred\u201d (bold in original) had Nieto-Cruz \u201cnot accelerated into the pathway\u201d of Farnsworth. However, Bowes added that \u201cthe collision may not have<\/strong> occurred\u201d had Farnsworth \u201cbeen traveling at a lesser speed.\u201d<\/p>\nAfter being run over by a Maricopa County Sheriff\u2019s Office boat in May 2025, Josh Nieto-Cruz suffered a deep laceration to his knee that required sutures.<\/p>\nBrutal injuries<\/p>\nPer the incident report, Nieto-Cruz suffered a six- or seven-inch laceration to the right knee that was nearly four inches wide, as well as a cut to his right forearm. Photos of his injuries, provided by his attorney, are gruesome. The laceration on his knee went deep into the muscle.<\/p>\nThe teen was taken to HonorHealth Deer Valley Medical Center, where he spent two days, according to his notice of claim. He received sutures and had to use a walker when he was discharged. The notice of claim says he incurred $130,519 in medical expenses as a result of the accident.<\/p>\nHis injuries dramatically altered his lifestyle, the notice of claim says. Nieto-Cruz played soccer before the accident, signing to play at the community college level for GateWay College. He was listed on GateWay\u2019s roster<\/a> for the 2025 season but did not play in a single game. Nieto-Cruz also helped his dad on the weekends, his claim states, and \u201cwas scheduled to begin employment at an Amazon warehouse within days of the accident but was unable to start the position because of physical limitations.\u201d His family also canceled a planned summer vacation because of his injuries.<\/p>\n\u201cHe still has pain,\u201d Levin said. \u201cHe has a very disfiguring scar. He has some loss of the ability to move and function as well as he did.\u201d<\/p>\nNo hearings have been scheduled in the lawsuit and the sheriff\u2019s office has not yet responded in court. Should the case go to trial, Levin predicts the video of the crash will show jurors all they need to know.<\/p>\n\u201cHad the deputy been paying attention to his surroundings, observed the vessel that my client was on and my client sooner, this wouldn\u2019t have happened,\u201d he said. \u201cI get that they came to the conclusion that my client, somehow or another, accelerated into their vehicle. But they were moving so fast, they couldn\u2019t have avoided it, given how fast they were going. It does seem to me it was reckless speed, given the circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Josh Nieto-Cruz\u2019s vacation had just begun. It was Memorial Day 2025, and the then-18-year-old had rented a jet…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":782309,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5131],"tags":[5229,5643,1587,1589,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-782308","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-phoenix","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-arizona","10":"tag-az","11":"tag-phoenix","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-united-states-of-america","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","16":"tag-us","17":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116539900193550576","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=782308"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782308\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/782309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=782308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=782308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=782308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\u201cYou can see that my client is moving at a relatively low speed. You can see that the MCSO boat is approaching at a very high speed,\u201d said Mick Levin, the attorney representing Nieto-Cruz in the case. \u201cMy client\u2019s opportunity to avoid this was relatively small, given the speed he was going and the direction of travel. But that deputy\u2019s boat was moving very, very fast.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sheriff\u2019s office declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing pending litigation. A spokesperson did not respond to a question about whether Farnsworth had been internally investigated for his role in the accident and whether any discipline has been leveled against him.<\/p>\n
Nieto-Cruz is asking a judge to award him a variety of damages over the crash. In a September notice of claim sent to the sheriff\u2019s office \u2014 prepared by a different attorney, who has since handed off the case to Levin \u2014 Nieto-Cruz demanded $4 million to settle the matter out of court. That included more than $130,000 for medical expenses.<\/p>\n
Josh-Nieto Cruz signed to play community college soccer but has not taken the field after being hit by a Maricopa County Sheriff\u2019s Office boat in May 2025.<\/p>\n
\u2018Faster than I would even thought\u2019<\/p>\n
The sequence of events leading up to the crash is laid out in a 52-page incident report authored by sheriff\u2019s office investigators. The report was provided to Phoenix New Times by Levin.<\/p>\n
Per the report, Farnsworth and two other deputies on his watercraft noticed Nieto-Cruz traveling too fast on his jet ski inside an area of the lake designated for traveling at a wakeless speed \u2014 essentially, going slow enough that a craft doesn\u2019t create any waves. After passing Nieto-Cruz going in the opposite direction, Farnsworth turned his boat around to pursue him, intending to \u201cmake contact with the jet ski operator and provide education on wake zones.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the sheriff\u2019s office boat made that U-turn, Nieto-Cruz had slowed to a near-stop to scan the shore, looking for his family. Not spotting them, he began to flip direction just as Farnsworth\u2019s boat came speeding at him, leading to the crash.<\/p>\n
Deputies pulled him screaming from the water, with gashes in his right arm and leg. Body-worn camera footage reviewed by a sheriff\u2019s office investigator showed deputies blaming Nieto-Cruz for the collision.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were going way too fast,\u201d deputy Austin Hermes could be heard telling him. \u201cWe were trying to come contact you and you turned right in front of the boat.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was just looking for my family and I did not see you guys coming,\u201d Nieto-Cruz replied, as deputies wrapped his injuries in gauze. \u201cWas that my fault, sir?\u201d<\/p>\n
The incident report prepared by sheriff\u2019s office investigators suggests that it was, although the report \u2014 and the video of the incident \u2014 sometimes undercuts the notion that Farnsworth couldn\u2019t have avoided the crash. The report notes that Nieto-Cruz showed no signs of impairment, but also repeatedly states that he was observed traveling \u201cabove a wakeless speed\u201d in an area of the lake where it was prohibited. It also notes that Nieto-Cruz apparently did not look for boat traffic before turning his jet ski around and steering into the path of Farnsworth\u2019s boat.<\/p>\n
But the report also suggests in places that Farnsworth wasn\u2019t aware of his speed as he made a beeline toward Nieto-Cruz. When asked by an investigator if he knew how fast he was traveling, Farnsworth replied, \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d Later, when shown the drone footage of the crash, Farnsworth told an investigator that it appeared he was going \u201ca little bit faster than I would (have) even thought I was going,\u201d explaining that \u201cI was trying to catch up to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though Nieto-Cruz\u2019s notice of claim suggested that Farnsworth \u201cdid not avoid Josh\u2019s path\u201d and hit him at full speed, the video shows the boat slowing slightly at the point of impact. Additionally, body-cam footage reviewed by investigators showed Farnsworth attempting to steer away from Nieto-Cruz and \u201cmoving the throttle down at a quick rate.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a final case summary on the crash, sheriff\u2019s deputy Jacob Bowes still put the weight of the crash mostly on Nieto-Cruz, writing that \u201cthe collision would not have<\/strong> occurred\u201d (bold in original) had Nieto-Cruz \u201cnot accelerated into the pathway\u201d of Farnsworth. However, Bowes added that \u201cthe collision may not have<\/strong> occurred\u201d had Farnsworth \u201cbeen traveling at a lesser speed.\u201d<\/p>\nAfter being run over by a Maricopa County Sheriff\u2019s Office boat in May 2025, Josh Nieto-Cruz suffered a deep laceration to his knee that required sutures.<\/p>\nBrutal injuries<\/p>\nPer the incident report, Nieto-Cruz suffered a six- or seven-inch laceration to the right knee that was nearly four inches wide, as well as a cut to his right forearm. Photos of his injuries, provided by his attorney, are gruesome. The laceration on his knee went deep into the muscle.<\/p>\nThe teen was taken to HonorHealth Deer Valley Medical Center, where he spent two days, according to his notice of claim. He received sutures and had to use a walker when he was discharged. The notice of claim says he incurred $130,519 in medical expenses as a result of the accident.<\/p>\nHis injuries dramatically altered his lifestyle, the notice of claim says. Nieto-Cruz played soccer before the accident, signing to play at the community college level for GateWay College. He was listed on GateWay\u2019s roster<\/a> for the 2025 season but did not play in a single game. Nieto-Cruz also helped his dad on the weekends, his claim states, and \u201cwas scheduled to begin employment at an Amazon warehouse within days of the accident but was unable to start the position because of physical limitations.\u201d His family also canceled a planned summer vacation because of his injuries.<\/p>\n\u201cHe still has pain,\u201d Levin said. \u201cHe has a very disfiguring scar. He has some loss of the ability to move and function as well as he did.\u201d<\/p>\nNo hearings have been scheduled in the lawsuit and the sheriff\u2019s office has not yet responded in court. Should the case go to trial, Levin predicts the video of the crash will show jurors all they need to know.<\/p>\n\u201cHad the deputy been paying attention to his surroundings, observed the vessel that my client was on and my client sooner, this wouldn\u2019t have happened,\u201d he said. \u201cI get that they came to the conclusion that my client, somehow or another, accelerated into their vehicle. But they were moving so fast, they couldn\u2019t have avoided it, given how fast they were going. It does seem to me it was reckless speed, given the circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Josh Nieto-Cruz\u2019s vacation had just begun. It was Memorial Day 2025, and the then-18-year-old had rented a jet…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":782309,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5131],"tags":[5229,5643,1587,1589,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-782308","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-phoenix","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-arizona","10":"tag-az","11":"tag-phoenix","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-united-states-of-america","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","16":"tag-us","17":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116539900193550576","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=782308"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782308\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/782309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=782308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=782308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=782308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
After being run over by a Maricopa County Sheriff\u2019s Office boat in May 2025, Josh Nieto-Cruz suffered a deep laceration to his knee that required sutures.<\/p>\n
Brutal injuries<\/p>\n
Per the incident report, Nieto-Cruz suffered a six- or seven-inch laceration to the right knee that was nearly four inches wide, as well as a cut to his right forearm. Photos of his injuries, provided by his attorney, are gruesome. The laceration on his knee went deep into the muscle.<\/p>\n
The teen was taken to HonorHealth Deer Valley Medical Center, where he spent two days, according to his notice of claim. He received sutures and had to use a walker when he was discharged. The notice of claim says he incurred $130,519 in medical expenses as a result of the accident.<\/p>\n
His injuries dramatically altered his lifestyle, the notice of claim says. Nieto-Cruz played soccer before the accident, signing to play at the community college level for GateWay College. He was listed on GateWay\u2019s roster<\/a> for the 2025 season but did not play in a single game. Nieto-Cruz also helped his dad on the weekends, his claim states, and \u201cwas scheduled to begin employment at an Amazon warehouse within days of the accident but was unable to start the position because of physical limitations.\u201d His family also canceled a planned summer vacation because of his injuries.<\/p>\n\u201cHe still has pain,\u201d Levin said. \u201cHe has a very disfiguring scar. He has some loss of the ability to move and function as well as he did.\u201d<\/p>\nNo hearings have been scheduled in the lawsuit and the sheriff\u2019s office has not yet responded in court. Should the case go to trial, Levin predicts the video of the crash will show jurors all they need to know.<\/p>\n\u201cHad the deputy been paying attention to his surroundings, observed the vessel that my client was on and my client sooner, this wouldn\u2019t have happened,\u201d he said. \u201cI get that they came to the conclusion that my client, somehow or another, accelerated into their vehicle. But they were moving so fast, they couldn\u2019t have avoided it, given how fast they were going. It does seem to me it was reckless speed, given the circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Josh Nieto-Cruz\u2019s vacation had just begun. It was Memorial Day 2025, and the then-18-year-old had rented a jet…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":782309,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5131],"tags":[5229,5643,1587,1589,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-782308","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-phoenix","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-arizona","10":"tag-az","11":"tag-phoenix","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-united-states-of-america","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","16":"tag-us","17":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116539900193550576","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=782308"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782308\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/782309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=782308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=782308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=782308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\u201cHe still has pain,\u201d Levin said. \u201cHe has a very disfiguring scar. He has some loss of the ability to move and function as well as he did.\u201d<\/p>\n
No hearings have been scheduled in the lawsuit and the sheriff\u2019s office has not yet responded in court. Should the case go to trial, Levin predicts the video of the crash will show jurors all they need to know.<\/p>\n
\u201cHad the deputy been paying attention to his surroundings, observed the vessel that my client was on and my client sooner, this wouldn\u2019t have happened,\u201d he said. \u201cI get that they came to the conclusion that my client, somehow or another, accelerated into their vehicle. But they were moving so fast, they couldn\u2019t have avoided it, given how fast they were going. It does seem to me it was reckless speed, given the circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Josh Nieto-Cruz\u2019s vacation had just begun. It was Memorial Day 2025, and the then-18-year-old had rented a jet…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":782309,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5131],"tags":[5229,5643,1587,1589,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-782308","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-phoenix","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-arizona","10":"tag-az","11":"tag-phoenix","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-united-states-of-america","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","16":"tag-us","17":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116539900193550576","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=782308"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782308\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/782309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=782308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=782308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=782308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}