A court determined on Wednesday that the nurse accused of triggering a terrible automobile accident in Los Angeles that killed six people, including a pregnant lady and her unborn child, must remain in prison for at least another two weeks.
Nicole Lorraine Linton, 37, has been jailed without bond since the horrific collision on August 4, when she is believed to have had a mental breakdown while operating a Mercedes-Benz that ploughed into other vehicles at a major junction while running a red light at 90 mph.
Six accusations of murder and five counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence are brought against Linton, a travelling nurse from Houston, Texas, who was working in LA at the time of the collision.
The unborn baby of the deceased, Asherey Ryan, who was eight months pregnant, was named in one of the murder accusations.
Linton attended a hearing on Wednesday at criminal court in downtown, where deputy district attorney Antonella Nistorescu filed a motion to postpone the scheduled bail hearing. Linton was in a wheelchair and was wearing grey prison overalls due to the broken foot and wrist she allegedly sustained in the accident.
Nistorescu said that additional time was required for the prosecution to look into Linton’s “mental health crises” and any “previous occurrences” that she could have been a part of.
The DDA stated that she also wanted to look into claims that Linton had been given medicine for her mental health concerns but had “voluntarily discontinued taking it” after receiving the prescription.
The petition to prolong Linton’s application for bail was opposed by her counsel, Halim Dhanidina, who informed the court that keeping her in detention while it is delayed further constitutes a continued breach of her rights.
Dhanidina argued that putting Linton behind bars would prevent her from receiving treatment for her epilepsy, as well as for her mental health concerns and other ailments.
He said that because Linton had no prior offences and “no drugs or alcohol in her system” at the time of the collision, prosecutors could keep her without going to prison.
And he pleaded with the judge to let her go to a mental health centre.
To the defense’s demand to “release the defendant to a non-lockdown facility,” DDA Nistorescu angrily objected.
She said, “Linton made a deliberate decision to enter that car, which resulted in the death of six innocent persons.”
Judge Victoria Wilson informed the court that she had “strong reason to approve the people’s motion” and granted the DA’s request to postpone the bail hearing until September 12.
A signed statement from UCLA physician William Winter, who evaluated Linton two days after the tragic accident and said she had “an obvious loss of awareness” at the time of the collision, was previously submitted by the prosecution.
Dr. Winter said, “She has no memory of the circumstances leading to her crash,” adding that Linton had bipolar illness. She then remembered being on the sidewalk when she saw that her vehicle was on fire.
According to the defence, there have been many past events involving the defendant that have become worse over time, including instances in which he has jumped on police vehicles and out of apartment windows, according to Vannoy.
The defence claims that [Linton] has often been subject to involuntary commitments and has injured herself.
Due to her “very dangerous behaviour” in the incident, her history of mental illness, her mother’s residence in Jamaica, and her connections to persons outside of California and the United States, Vannoy argued that Linton should be detained without bail until her trial.
The horrifying collision killed 23-year-old Ryan, her 11-month-old son Alonzo Luchiano Quintero, and her boyfriend, security officer Reynold Lester, 24, who is also the father of Ryan’s unborn child. It took place at a busy junction in Windsor Hills, roughly 10 miles southwest of downtown LA.
According to family members, the three were on route to the doctor for Ryan’s pregnancy checkup when tragedy struck. The high-speed crash, which was captured on film by neighbouring security cameras, caused their automobile to be split in two.
The foetus, named Armani Lester by the coroner’s office and classified as born on the same day of his death, was charged with one count of murder but not with a second count of vehicular manslaughter.
Lynette Noble, 38, and mother-of-six Nathesia Lewis, 42, were the other two fatalities of the collision.
When their automobile was struck and promptly caught fire, they were both driving.
Due to the terrible devastation to their corpses, it took some time before their identities could be determined from personal items and paperwork discovered in their burned-out automobile.
Linton’s attorney, Dhanidina, has acknowledged that his client has a history of ‘profound mental health issues’ that may be related to the accident, but he has refuted claims that she had at least 13 prior collisions, including a 2020 injury accident that totaled two cars, and was aware of the danger her driving behaviour posed.
Dhanidina asserted, “It’s been publicised widely and it’s not true.” “She does not have a history of reckless driving.”
Linton, who is being detained at the Century Regional Detention Center east of downtown, may spend the rest of his life in jail if found guilty on all counts, according to LA County District Attorney George Gascón, who scheduled a news conference shortly after the collision.
Gascón asserted that Linton sped through a red light and struck oncoming traffic at the busy intersection of La Brea and Slauson Avenues while moving at a speed of at least 90 mph.
Gascón said, “A young family was annihilated in the flash of an eye.” Families and relatives of the deceased and wounded have suffered terrible harm.
The whole community, who was made aware of this unbelievable tragedy and who saw the now-viral footage of the crash, also suffered a great loss.
ICU nurse Linton also worked as a strip club waitress and has a history of making suicidal threats after heartbreaking breakups. After the passing of her boyfriend, Olympic athlete Germaine Mason, in 2017, she had mental health issues.
Before he was murdered in a motorbike accident, she had plans to marry Mason, a high jump silver winner at the 2008 Olympics, DailyMail.com has reported.
According to a person close to Linton, “the first thing that went through my head when I learned what had occurred in LA was that she had fought with her boyfriend and was intoxicated and attempting to commit herself.”
She had previously made threats to do it. I thought maybe this time she had followed through.
On October 26, Linton will be formally charged and given the opportunity to enter a plea to the 11 allegations against her.