San Diego, CA
After surviving a brutal crash, this San Diego police officer is feeling gratitude and forgiveness
When Zachary Martinez awoke in Sharp Memorial in late August, he wasn’t sure where he was or how he’d gotten there.
Martinez spotted his mom and asked what was going on. She said he’d been in a car accident, and his first thought was, “I need to call Austin and tell him what happened.” Austin Machitar was Martinez’s partner at the San Diego Police Department.
Then someone explained that Machitar was dead, and Martinez wondered if he’d be able to go back to being an officer.
The fact that Martinez even had that choice to make is somewhat of a miracle.
Around 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 26, someone reported a speeding BMW headed east on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard. Police initially pursued the driver, but a supervisor quickly called them off because of how fast the other vehicle was going. Martinez and Machitar were on their way to the call when the BMW slammed into the side of their car.
Machitar, 30, was killed. Martinez, 27, was thrown from the vehicle. His neck broke. His brain bled. Multiple ribs were fractured, as were his cheekbones. One of the first officers who got to the scene thought he was dead.
Yet Martinez was back on patrol this weekend, and he addressed reporters Sunday outside the department’s Northern Division headquarters in full uniform, a Taser on his belt and a radio slung over his chest. The only obvious mark from the crash was mottled purple skin pulled tight across the top of his left hand.
Martinez doesn’t remember the collision. He barely remembers the day. He’s got a vague memory of going with a roommate to look at a truck before the shift, and of responding to a call at a motel with Machitar, but both seem almost too mundane to be in the same day that ended his partner’s life.
Martinez does recall being on the ground, surrounded by a strange mix of darkness and light, and asking God that he be given a second chance.
Martinez spent more than a week in San Diego hospitals before receiving additional treatment, including physical therapy and burn care, in his hometown of Lubbock, Texas. Once he regained his bearings, it wasn’t hard to recommit to the police department. He’d dreamed of being an officer ever since he was a kid, and one of the reasons he liked his job was Machitar, who’d helped train him and brought a lightness to every shift.
He now wears a black wristband with Machitar’s name on it. “I wish I would have said ‘thank you’ again,” Martinez said. “He had taught me a lot.”
He praised everyone from the mayor and police chief to his colleagues and neighbors for their ongoing support.
The accident also took the life of the driver, 16-year-old Edgar Giovanny Oviedo.
“I forgive him,” Martinez said. “This job, you see people that may not have the best intentions, they may not have done the best thing, but I gain nothing from holding a grudge against somebody.”
“I hope he’s at peace,” Martinez added.
Staff writer Teri Figueroa contributed to this report.
Originally Published:
NASCAR will honor the 250th birthday of the United States and the US Navy’s 250th anniversary with a race brand new to the racing calendar.
The Anduril 250 will take place on a road course built on Naval Base Coronado in San Diego, California. The 3.4-mile track has 19 turns. The race is 255 miles total and drivers will do 75 laps.
Shane van Gisbergen, who is widely considered to be NASCAR’s best road course driver, will start in pole position. van Gisbergen has won seven road races in 14 total starts, and he is just two road wins away from tying Jeff Gordon’s record of nine.
nascar anduril 250: what to know
- When: June 21, 4 p.m. ET
- Where: Coronado Street Course (Naval Base Coronado, San Diego, California)
- Channel: Streaming exclusive
- Streaming: Prime Video (30 days free)
Here’s everything you need to know about today’s NASCAR Cup Series race on the Coronado Street Course.
NASCAR Cup race at San Diego start time:
Today’s (June 21) NASCAR race, the Anduril 250, begins at 4 p.m. ET.
What channel is today’s (June 21) NASCAR race on?
Today’s NASCAR race won’t be on traditional television; it will air exclusively on Prime Video.
How to watch the NASCAR Anduril 250 for free:
With Prime Video, you can also take advantage of the streamer’s Shop the Race storefront, exclusively on the Amazon mobile app, to shop gear, flags, and more for your favorite driver.
NASCAR San Diego starting lineup:
- Shane van Gisbergen
- Carson Hocevar
- Ryan Blaney
- Zane Smith
- Todd Gilliland
- Daniel Suárez
- Ryan Preece
- Connor Zilisch
- Michael McDowell
- Austin Hill
- Ty Gibbs
- Bubba Wallace
- Corey Heim
- Kyle Larson
- AJ Allmendinger
- Chris Buescher
- Tyler Reddick
- Austin Dillon
- Joey Logano
- Alex Bowman
- Kevin Magnussen
- Chase Briscoe
- Ross Chastain
- Riley Herbst
- Cole Custer
- Denny Hamlin
- William Byron
- John Hunter Nemechek
- Brad Keselowski
- Chase Elliott
- Austin Cindric
- Noah Gragson
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Ty Dillon
- Josh Berry
- Jimmie Johnson
- Christopher Bell
- Erik Jones
- Cody Ware
Why Trust Post Wanted by the New York Post
This article was written by Angela Tricarico, Commerce Streaming Reporter for Post Wanted Shopping, Page Six, and Decider.com. Angela keeps readers up to date with cord-cutter-friendly deals, and information on how to watch your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and movies on every streaming service. Not only does Angela test and compare the streaming services she writes about to ensure readers are getting the best prices, but she’s also a superfan specializing in the intersection of shopping, tech, sports, and pop culture. When she’s not writing about (or watching) TV, movies, and sports, she’s also keeping up on the underrated perfume dupes at Bath & Body Works and testing headphones. Prior to joining Decider and The New York Post in 2023, she wrote about streaming and consumer tech at Insider Reviews.
Copyright 2026 San Diego Union-Tribune. All rights reserved. The use of any content on this website for the purpose of training artificial intelligence systems, algorithms, machine learning models, text and data mining, or similar use is strictly prohibited without explicit written consent.
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