Former nurse was found guilty of killing six people while driving over 100 mph through a busy Los Angeles intersection

Nicole Linton during trial/YouTube screenshot

On Friday, former nurse Nicole Linton was found guilty of killing six people after running a red light at approximately 135 miles per hour in Los Angeles at the intersection of La Brea Avenue and Slauson Avenue.

The jury found her guilty of six counts of second-degree murder from the 2022 accident. Her victims were Nathesia Lewis, 43, and Lynette Noble, 38; Asherey Ryan, 23, who was 8 1/2 months pregnant; Ryan’s boyfriend, Reynold Lester, 24; and their 11-month-old son, Alonzo; her unborn child, Armani, was also killed after being forced out of her uterus upon impact, according to PEOPLE.

The crash set several vehicles on fire. Some of the victims were not recognizable for identification, according to multiple news sources.

The crash site

During the trial, it was argued that Nicole, who was a traveling nurse from Houston, reportedly became enraged after a bad day at work at Kaiser Permanente Hospital. According to PEOPLE, the prosecution also argued Linton refused to address mental health issues, including her bipolar disorder diagnosis. The prosecution alleged that days before the crash, Linton was not taking her medication or sleeping.

YouTube screenshot

The trial also revealed that the former nurse had other driving infractions. The New York Post reported that, in a 2016 incident, prosecutors said she struck a woman before speeding away at roughly 100 mph and blowing through red lights. The LA Times said the trial exposed that Linton was involved in several documented incidents of violence and erratic driving when she’d previously gone off her medication, according to Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Antonella Nistorescu.

Linton's legal team tried to argue that she suffered a seizure during the accident. According to the LA Times, a neurologist and a psychiatrist who examined Linton weeks after the crash said she suffered a seizure in the moments leading up to the wreck and completely lost control of the vehicle. Still, the court rejected that argument because she had other driving infractions and was neglecting her mental health.

Relatives of some of the victims rejected the defense team's claim that Linton had a medical emergency. Shashanna Kerr, the sister of one of the victims, Asherey Ryan, stated, “This was not an accident. This was someone who wanted to take herself out and others with her—we knew that this wasn’t a case of a medical crisis,” said Ryan’s sister.

Linton faces the possibility of life in prison. Her sentencing is scheduled for December 1st.

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