WINDSOR HILLS, Calif. (KTLA) — A 37-year-old Texas nurse suspected of killing six people and injuring eight others when her speeding Mercedes-Benz plowed into several vehicles last week in California will be charged with six counts of murder and five counts of gross vehicular manslaughter, officials announced Monday.
District Attorney George Gascón called the crash “tragic.”
The driver, identified as Nicole Linton, was working in Los Angeles as a traveling nurse out of Texas, when the crash occurred last Thursday, authorities said.
Linton was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. She was being held in lieu of $9 million bond Monday and faces up to 90 years to life in prison if convicted, Gascón said.
Linton was expected to be charged Monday afternoon.
Authorities believe Linton’s car was traveling around 90 mph when she sped through a red light and hit crossing vehicles at the busy intersection of La Brea and Slauson avenues in Windsor Hills.
Asherey Ryan, 23, who was six months pregnant, her 11-month-old son Alonzo, and her fiancé, Reynold Lester, were on their way to a prenatal checkup when the speeding Mercedes-Benz hit them and exploded into flames.
Everyone in Ryan’s vehicle died, including her unborn son.
“A young family was destroyed in the blink of an eye,” Gascón said at a news conference Monday.
“There’s catastrophic damage to the families and friends of those killed and injured. It’s not only a tremendous loss to their families, but to our entire community, who learned of this incredible tragedy who watched the now viral video of the collision.”
There is no evidence that alcohol was a factor in the deadly incident, but the crash remains under investigation, Gascón said.
Loved ones gathered over the weekend at the site of the horrific crash.
Sha’seana Kerr, Ryan’s younger sister, shared this message for Linton.
“I just want to tell her that we forgive her,” Kerr said. “She will have to live with this for the rest of her life. That’s why she was spared. We understand it already.”
GoFundMe pages have been set up to help the families of Lester and Ryan, Alonzo and her unborn son pay for funeral expenses.
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