Nurse In Windsor Hills Crash Awaits Charges While Hospitalized

LOS ANGELES, CA — A registered nurse, suspected of plowing a Mercedes through a bustling Windsor Hills intersection and causing a fiery crash that killed six people, was still hospitalized Saturday.

Nicole Lorraine Linton, 37, was under arrest and awaiting charges while recovering on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The crash killed six people including an infant, a pregnant woman and her fetus.

She was reportedly recovering from "moderate" injuries at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, the CHP said.

The fate of her charges remains in the hands of the District Attorney's Office. Los Angles District Attorney George Gascón said Friday his office would be "working with law enforcement throughout the weekend," and the investigation could be presented to his office for consideration of charges "as early as Monday."

Linton was driving a dark colored Mercedes, which she was driving southbound on La Brea Avenue "at a high rate of speed," CHP officials said.

While speeding, Linton ran through a red light and crashed into multiple vehicles traveling eastbound and westbound on Slauson Avenue. Multiple people were ejected and two vehicles were fully engulfed in flames, according to the CHP.

Injured parties were rushed to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center by ambulance while six people were declared dead at the scene, officials said.

Amid "extensive fire damage," officials were not able to determine the make and model of some of the vehicles involved, the CHP said.

Eight vehicles, including Linton's, were involved in the collision. The heavily damaged Mercedes ended up near a bench down the street, according to the CHP.

Eight others were among the injured, including seven occupants of a Chevrolet Traverse. The 33-year-old driver, a year-old boy and three teenagers suffered moderate injuries, while two other teens inside the vehicle had only minor injuries.
The eighth victim — the 19-year-old driver of an Audi A3 — also suffered minor injuries.

The intersection of La Brea and Slauson avenues reopened around 3:30 a.m. Friday.

Linton is a traveling nurse from Houston, Texas, according to reports from the Los Angeles Times and KHOU-11. According to her LinkedIn page, Linton has been working in the intensive care unit at Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles Medical Center.

Kaiser Permanente issued a statement Friday saying, "Everyone at Kaiser Permanente is deeply saddened by Thursday's horrific crash. It's impossible to imagine the pain those involved are experiencing. Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragedy. At this time, we are not able to comment on what has been reported as a criminal investigation."

Video posted on social media showed a Mercedes-Benz sedan speeding through the intersection and careen into cars on La Brea Avenue, near Slauson Avenue. The fiery wreck happened about 10 miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles.

The impact threw several people from multiple cars. Two vehicles burst into flames.

Veronica Esquival told KTLA-TV the crash flung a baby.

"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 told the TV station. "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."

Asherey Ryan, 23, of Los Angeles was identified as the pregnant woman who was killed in the crash. She and her male fetus were among those killed in the crash.

The woman's 11-month-old son, Alonzo Quintero, was also killed, along with Ryan's boyfriend, who was the father of her unborn son. Ryan's boyfriend was driving the car that was struck, according to a video posted online by Ryan's sister, Sha'seana Kerr, according to the family.

Kerr identified him as Reynold Lester, 24, of Los Angeles who worked as a security guard.

In the video, Kerr said Ryan was 8 1/2 months pregnant, and she was on her way to a doctor's appointment when the crash occurred.

The family was planning to name the unborn infant, a male, Armani Lester, according to the Los Angeles County coroner's office.

"She left the house at 1:30. She woke me up," Kerr said. "She woke me up and told me she was going to go to her doctor's appointment, that she loved me and she'll be right back."

But 15 minutes later, she saw footage of the car crash.

"And for some reason, as soon as I seen that video, it hit me. It felt different. I felt connected," she said.

Kerr said she cried throughout the night.

"I didn't sleep one bit," she said. "I'm all cried out."

A GoFundMe page launched on behalf of the family has raised more than $109,691.

"We lost Asherey Ryan her 11 month old son Alonzo Quintero, Asherey’s unborn baby Armani to a tragic car accident that took place on Slauson and La Brea. We need help with funeral expenses because they did not have insurance so any donations help. Please let the family mourn in peace," the page states.

Friends and family gathered at the crash site on Friday to remember and say goodbye to the victims. Lighted candles dotted a memorial near the site of the deadly crash.

Community activists gathered at the intersection Friday, adding to a growing memorial of candles and flowers for the victims of the crash.

"This is a catastrophic situation that has taken place in our community," activist Eddie Jones told reporters. "I cried all night, because someone innocent who did not deserve to lose their life, lost their life."

Earl Ofari Hutchinson, a nearby resident and president of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable, told reporters the intersection has been historically dangerous with speeding vehicles, as well as the scene of occasional street takeovers.

Veronica Esquivel, 40, told the Daily News she was about to pump gas at one of the intersection's four stations when the crash occurred.

"I heard the collision. I saw the fire ... you see the fire at a gas station I just immediately thought explosion," Esquivel said. "I saw things flying in the air ... I didn't know if something was going to come through and hit me."

City News Service and Patch editor Daniel Hampton contributed to this report.

READ MORE: Windsor Hills Crash: Nurse Arrested On Manslaughter Charges

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