Nurse charged in fiery crash that killed 6 in Windsor Hills denied bail, move to psychiatric facility
Bail was denied to a nurse charged in a horrific crash that killed five people and an unborn baby in Windsor Hills last month.
Nicole Lorraine Linton, 37, was in court Monday as her attorney, Halim Dhanidina, asked the court to allow her to be released to a mental health treatment facility and be electronically monitored. Dhanidina said Linton wouldn't be able to get up and leave.
Prosecutors had objected to the request, saying the defense's suggestion that she suffered an "apparent lapse of consciousness" during a mental health crisis in the moments leading up to the crash "defies logic."
Superior Court Judge Victoria B. Wilson denied the defense's request, saying the Houston nurse allegedly floored the gas pedal in her car and was driving at 130 mph just before the deadly Aug. 4 crash at La Brea and Slauson avenues, and did not try to stop or slow down, with six people suffering "horrific deaths."
"She stole six innocent lives," the judge said.
Those killed in the fiery crash included 23-year-old Asherey Ryan of Los Angeles, who was 8 1/2 months pregnant, her 11-month old son Alonzo Quintero, and her boyfriend, 24-year-old Reynold Lester. The family was all in one car, on their way to a prenatal doctor's appointment.
In another car, 43-year-old Nathesia Lewis and her friend, 38-year-old Lynette Noble, were also killed. The crash also injured eight other people, including Linton, who was using crutches for Monday's hearing, after being brought into court in a wheelchair for two previous hearings.
Linton has been charged with six counts of murder, and five counts of vehicular manslaughter. If convicted as charged, Linton faces 90 years to life in prison.
