Driver Charged After Crash That Killed 5, Including Pregnant Woman
A traveling nurse was charged with six counts of murder and five counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence on Monday in a fiery crash that killed five people last week in the Los Angeles area.
Nicole Linton, 37, of Houston was arraigned on Monday in Los Angeles in the wake of a crash on Aug. 4 in which police said Linton was driving her Mercedes-Benz at a high rate of speed before smashing into multiple vehicles. She faces up to 90 years in prison if convicted on all charges, according to NBC Los Angeles.
“This is a case that will always be remembered for the senseless loss of so many innocent lives as they simply went about their daily routines,” L.A. County District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement.
Security video shows a Mercedes running a red light on Aug. 4 and causing a fiery wreck as it plows into multiple vehicles on La Brea Boulevard in Windsor Hills.
Six other vehicles were involved in the collision and five other people suffered minor injuries, according to a news release by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Asherey Ryan, 23, who was pregnant, was killed in the crash, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Ryan's son, 11-month-old Alonzo Quintero, and her boyfriend, Reynold Lester, were also killed along with Ryan's unborn child, whom they planned to name Armani, according to Ryan's mother, Sharita Randleston, and sister, Shaseana Kerr, who spoke to NBC Los Angeles.
Kerr said Ryan was driving to a checkup at the doctor's office for her unborn baby.
"To lose her, to lose that guidance, to lose someone I really looked up to, is so devastating,” Kerr said.
Two other women, whom authorities have not identified, were also killed in another vehicle. TODAY reached out to the California Highway Patrol for an update but did not immediately hear back.
Patricia Allen, who identified herself as the aunt of one of the women, told NBC Los Angeles that the woman was a 42-year-old mother who was heading to the mall with her best friend, who was also killed.
"She was a giving person, always laughing, always smiling," Allen said.
Linton, who was initially hospitalized after the crash, appeared in court on Monday in a wheelchair and could be seen getting emotional in video from NBC Los Angeles.
"This is an incident, an episode that was caused in large part by documented, profound mental health issues," Linton's attorney, Halim Dhanidina, said in court about his client on Monday, according to the video from NBC Los Angeles.
