Wave Wire Services
LOS ANGELES — A prosecutor told jurors Sept. 8 that a traveling nurse drove through a red light at 130 miles an hour, causing a fiery crash that resulted in the deaths of six people, including an unborn baby, while the woman’s attorney countered that the defendant suffered from a seizure and should be acquitted of murder.
Nicole Linton, now 41, is charged with six counts of murder in the Aug. 4, 2022, crash at the intersection of La Brea and Slauson avenues.
Those killed included 23-year-old Asherey Ryan of Los Angeles, who relatives said was 8 1/2 months pregnant, along with her unborn child, who was to be named Armani Lester, her 11-month-old son Alonzo Quintero and her 24-year-old boyfriend, Reynold Lester of Los Angeles, who were in a Jaguar that was split “in half.”
Nathesia Lewis, 43, and her friend, 38-year-old Lynette Noble, who were in a Nissan, also were killed.
Authorities said nine other people, including Linton, were injured, with a total of nine vehicles involved in the collision and its aftermath.
In her opening statement, Deputy District Attorney Brittany Vannoy told the downtown Los Angeles jury that Linton “chose to drive at 130 miles per hour” and “chose to drive through that red light … flooring it,” plowing her Mercedes-Benz into a the Jaguar containing the family that was heading to their final prenatal appointment and the Nissan containing two women who were going shopping.
Some of the victims’ family members rushed out of court as images were shown of the deadly crash, with the prosecutor explaining that Ryan’s unborn baby was “ripped from her womb” as a result of the high-speed crash.
Data from the defendant’s car showed that she was traveling at 122 mph five seconds before the crash and had reached 130 mph by the time of the first impact, without any braking or swerving, according to the prosecutor.
The deputy district attorney said the data showed that the woman’s steering was precise and that she was “able to navigate the roadway” and follow the curvature of the road and the lane lines in the moments leading up to the deadly collision.
Linton was frustrated with her job as a traveling nurse and left Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles Medical Center that afternoon intending to quit, and “channeled that frustration” into her driving, Vannoy said.
The prosecutor told jurors that a neurologist retained by the defense is expected to testify that Linton had suffered a seizure, but said she had “never been diagnosed with a seizure disorder before” and that there was evidence that she was “faking a seizure” during subsequent testing after the crash.
Defense attorney Jovan Blacknell acknowledged that the crash was “tragic,” but said that Linton being charged with the most serious crime of murder “is also a tragedy.”
He told jurors that she was not drunk, under the influence of drugs, on the phone at the time, rushing to get somewhere or racing, but was instead suffering from a “medical emergency” at the time of the “catastrophic car collision.”
Linton’s lawyer said she suffered a seizure at “probably the most inopportune time.”
The woman’s co-workers indicated later that she hadn’t been acting like herself that day, and her sister — who she talked with shortly before the crash — also noticed that something was off and called another of their sisters to talk with her about their conversation, Blacknell said.
Paramedics who responded to the crash scene found Linton dazed and confused, he said.
“It is certainly an emotional case,” Blacknell added, telling jurors that their biggest challenge will be to determine what Linton’s mental state was at the time.
After nearly an afternoon full of testimony, the judge sent jurors out of the courtroom after Linton gasped loudly when a gas station surveillance video was shown depicting the fireball that ensued after the crash.
“Ms. Linton, you’re going to have to control yourself,” the judge said. “We don’t want this based on emotion. … Take a minute and compose yourself.”
One of the prosecution’s witnesses, Veronica Esquivel, testified that she heard an “eerie sound” and knew something bad had happened.
“It surely sounded like people were dying,” she said of what she believed were multiple explosions.
She said that everyone started screaming and that she was scared that she would be struck by debris flying through the air.
Esquivel said she saw the baby flying through the air before landing on the ground with pieces of his clothing missing.
“His eyes were rolled back,” she said, noting that she wanted to run away but couldn’t leave the baby there and began screaming, “The baby! The baby!” She said someone came to help her with the baby before she ran from the scene.
Tonya Boyd testified that she was getting ready to pump gas into her car at the United gas station that afternoon, and dropped the gas hose and ran.
She said she followed two people, including one of the employees, with the injured baby into the convenience store, and that she tried to perform CPR on the baby, but heard “like a gurgling sound” and felt like the baby “was not alive.”
“The baby was not breathing,” the witness said, growing emotional as she was asked to look at a photo of the baby on the convenience store’s counter.
Linton was initially charged with six counts of murder and five counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, but the less serious charges were dismissed after the prosecution announced at a hearing last month that it was not going to proceed with those counts, according to court records.
She was arrested by the California Highway Patrol on the day of the crash and remains behind bars without bail, jail records show.
On a website supporting Linton, one of her sisters, Camille, wrote that the crash “did not happen on purpose, but was a tragic accident.”
“She is someone who we love dearly and right now, so many people see her as this monster and a murderer, when she is one of the most compassionate and caring people that we know,” the statement continued.
