The ICU nurse who killed five people, including a pregnant woman, and injured eight others in a fiery crash has officially been charged with six counts of murder. Los Angeles County prosecutors say Nicole Linton, 37, was involved in 13 previous wrecks. Details inside…
The ICU nurse who plowed her Mercedes-Benz into ongoing traffic while driving as fast as 100 mph – killing five people and injuring eight people – has been charged with murder.
Nicole Lorraine Linton, a 37-year-old traveling nurse from Houston, Texas, was reportedly charged with six counts of murder and five counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
One murder charge was filed for the pregnant woman’s unborn child.
Horrific crash in Los Angeles leaves 5 dead and 8 injured pic.twitter.com/61sh2v9Z4R
— Remarks (@Remarks) August 5, 2022
If convicted of all the charges, she could face 90 years behind bars.
The Texas nurse – who is currently renting a room in Los Angeles while working as a traveling registered nurse – made her first court appearance Monday after she was released from the hospital Sunday. She is being held at the Century Regional Detention Center in Lynwood, California, on a $9 million bond. During her first court hearing, Nicole did not enter a plea and her arraignment was continued until October. The judge ordered her to be held without bail pending a bail hearing next week.
After the crash, a woman who identified herself as Nicole’s friend told reporters the nurse was “drunk” and was involved in a fight with her boyfriend before the fiery crash.
LA County DA George Gascón held a press conference Monday where he said that “there was no evidence of alcohol use at this point.” Gascón acknowledged the woman’s allegations and said investigators are working to “further identify this person.” He declined to give additional information about the woman.
As for Nicole, prosecutors said they are reviewing her driving history, which is…interesting. They claim she was involved in 13 prior crashes, both in and out of California – including one in 2020 that involved bodily injury in which two cars were totaled. Sheesh.
The LA Times reports:
Nicole Linton’s attorney, Halim Dhanidina, asked the court Monday to continue her arraignment to October because he is reviewing her out-of-state history of “documented profound mental health issues.” Dhanidina did not elaborate on those issues but said the Windsor Hills crash could be linked to them.
As for last Thursday’s horrific crash, prosecutors say Nicole was speeding as fast as 90 mph before she crashed into at least six vehicles, killing six and injuring eight others. Of those injured, six were teens and one suffered major injuries.
One of the deceased was a pregnant 23-year-old named Asherey Ryan. The pregnant woman, her 11-month-old son, Alonzo Quintero (who was about two weeks shy of his first birthday); her boyfriend, Reynold Lester; and their unborn child were all killed. Asherey was 8½ months pregnant and was headed to a doctor’s appointment when she was killed, according to her sister. The baby boy she was carrying had been named Armani Lester, according to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.
Two additional women killed in the crash have yet to be identified.
Witness Veronica Esquival said she was pumping gas feet away from the collision. When she heard the crash, she said she covered her head for protection as debris was flying.
“All of the sudden, a baby literally flew from the middle of the intersection to the middle of the gas station and landed right on the floor in front of me,” Esquival said. “One of the workers came and saw me with the baby and took the baby out of my hands. Somebody tried to resuscitate the baby, but the baby was gone.”
Heartbreaking.
Such a tragic situation.
Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Daily Mail.com via AP, Pool
