Driver Arrested for Fiery Los Angeles Crash That Killed 6 Identified As Nurse Nicole Lorraine Linton
by Wendy Medina

August 6, 2022

Driver Arrested for Fiery Los Angeles Crash That Killed 6 Identified As Nurse Nicole Lorraine Linton

Disclosure: This post contains graphic details and video. 

The woman responsible for the tragic multi-car wreck at the La Brea-Slauson intersection in West Los Angeles Thursday, has been identified by the California Highway Patrol as 37-year-old registered nurse Nicole Lorraine Linton.

Linton survived the fiery crash and has been arrested amid her hospitalization on grounds of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, according to authorities. She is currently at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center with “moderate” injuries.

The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office will have final say in regards to the charges.

Suspected of driving at speeds of at least 100 mph, the driver plowed through the busy intersection at around 1:40 p.m., reports the Los Angeles Sentinel, claiming the lives of six people, including a pregnant woman identified by the coroner’s office as Asherey Ryan, 23, and her infant son. 

“Preliminary investigation indicates Nicole Lorraine Linton was driving a dark colored Mercedes, traveling southbound on La Brea Avenue at a high rate of speed,” read 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,” according to the CHP.

Video of the crash was captured at nearby gas stations, where Linton’s Benz is seen flying past and immediately causing an explosion as it hit the first two cars at a stand still, sending multiple people and a baby through their windshields, and even tearing one car completely in half. A streak of flames was left in place of where the cars stood.

A witness of the horrific scene, Veronica Esquivel, told local news that a baby landed near her due to the impact.

“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 said. “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.” 

https://twitter.com/ivirlei/status/1555628481802690560?s=20&t=m7H4b3wWRGqcPR85KwmHaw

By Friday, a memorial of flowers and candles took over the intersection, as mourners paid their respects to the victims of the tragedy. 

Family of Ryan said the woman was headed to a prenatal check with her 11-month-old Alonzo Quintero and boyfriend Reynold Lester, per a GoFundMe posting by Ryan’s sister Sha’seana Kerr.

“Everybody’s heartbroken,” Kerr said to KABC-TV. “She literally walked out the door, because we all live together, and she said, ‘Ok, I love y’all. I’m going to my doctor’s appointment to check up on the baby.’ We asked, ‘Oh, why don’t you leave our nephew here?’ She said, ‘No, I want to take my son for a ride.’ So, knowing that really, really broke our hearts.”

https://twitter.com/keshh_/status/1555637896211615744?s=20&t=m7H4b3wWRGqcPR85KwmHaw


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