A registered nurse, Nicole Lorraine Linton suspected of speeding a Mercedes-Benz through a Windsor Hills intersection, sparking a fiery crash that killed six people — including an infant, a pregnant woman and her fetus — remained hospitalized and under arrest today on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter.
The Mercedes driver, Linton, 37, of Los Angeles, survived the Thursday afternoon crash and was hospitalized with “moderate” injuries at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, according to the California Highway Patrol.
She was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, according to the CHP. There was no immediate word if drugs or alcohol factored into the crash. A final determination of charges will be made by the District Attorney’s Office.
“Preliminary investigation indicates Nicole Lorraine Linton was driving a dark colored Mercedes, traveling southbound on La Brea Avenue at a high rate of speed,” according to a CHP statement.
“While driving the Mercedes, Linton proceeded through a red light and collided into multiple vehicles traveling eastbound and westbound on Slauson Avenue. As a result of this collision, multiple parties were ejected and two vehicles were fully engulfed in flames. Following the collision, involved parties were transported to (Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center) by ambulance and six individuals were declared deceased on scene,” the CHP reported.
“Due to extensive fire damage, it is unknown at this time the make and model of the involved vehicles and which vehicles the involved parties were traveling in,” the CHP reported. The Los Angeles Times reported Linton is a nurse registered to practice in Texas and California.
The pregnant woman who died in the crash was identified Friday by the coroner’s office as 23-year-old Asherey Ryan of Los Angeles. She and her male fetus were among the victims killed in the crash that occurred just before 1:40 p.m. Thursday at La Brea and Slauson avenues, near Ladera Park.
According to Ryan’s Facebook page, she had a roughly year-old son. Ryan’s relatives confirmed to Fox11 that her son was also killed in the crash.
Dramatic surveillance video from the scene showed the Mercedes plowing through the 35 mph zone on La Brea at a speed authorities estimate neared 100 mph — speeding through a red light at Slauson and broad-siding a vehicle.
The crash ignited an inferno as the sedan struck by the Mercedes was pushed into at least one other vehicle, and both wound up against a gas station sign on the corner. A trail of fire was left burning in the intersection as the vehicles struck by the speeding driver were engulfed in flames.
As many as six vehicles were involved in the chain-reaction crash, with the heavily damaged Mercedes ending up near a bench down the street.
The fire department and the CHP reported three adults and one infant died in the collision, and there were multiple ejections due to the crash.
Ryan’s male fetus was also being counted among the deceased. Unconfirmed reports from the scene suggested Ryan was more than eight months pregnant, and was traveling to a doctor’s appointment when the crash occurred.
The CHP reported a sixth victim was later found dead in the burned wreckage of one vehicle, but further information about that person was not immediately available. At least eight other people — many of them believed to be teenagers — were injured in the collision, though the extent of their injuries was not immediately known.
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.”
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.”
The intersection of La Brea and Slauson avenues reopened around 3:30
a.m. Friday.