Nurse arrested after collision that killed 6 and injured 8
A 37-year-old registered nurse accused of speeding through a red light in Windsor Hills and plowing into an intersection crowded with vehicles, killing six people and injuring another eight, has been arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, authorities said on Friday, a day after the fiery, chain-reaction collision.
It was unclear why the driver of the black Mercedes-Benz blew through the light about 1:40 p.m. Thursday before striking multiple vehicles, at La Brea and Slauson avenues, with her car and at least one vehicle bursting into flames. As many as six vehicles were involved.
Authorities so far had not disclosed whether they believe drugs, alcohol or texting factored into the crash.
The woman suspected of causing the crash, Los Angeles resident Nicole Lorraine Linton, survived with moderate injuries, California Highway Patrol officials said. She is a registered nurse in California and Texas, according to public records.
She was being treated at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center for major injuries, the CHP said.
An infant boy, a pregnant woman — Aherey Ryan, 23, of Los Angeles — and her unborn male fetus were among the six who died. The other names had not been released by officials.
“I drove to the scene,” Ryan’s sister, Seana Kerr, told KABC Channel 7. “I ran past the police officers just because I wanted to feel her energy one more time. Yesterday, I truly lost it. My family was broken yesterday, and we’re still broken.”
Ryan was headed to a doctor’s appointment with her son.
“Everybody’s heartbroken,” Kerr told ABC7. “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.”
Friday morning, soot covered the green “Slauson” sign above where the collision and the fire had erupted. Dark spots covered the ground beneath a Los Angeles County Public Works crew as it replaced stoplights that had been damaged.
Across the street, a half-dozen Windsor Hills residents gathered around a row of candles, flowers and stuffed animals left in memory of the six killed in the crash. One woman made the sign of the cross and appeared to be praying over the offerings.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson, 74, lives nearby. He was in his backyard when he heard a car “careening” downhill on La Brea and into the intersection before what sounded like an explosion.
He was at the intersection before firefighters arrived, and he saw two people dead in the street near wrecked cars that were engulfed in flames.
Bystanders were screaming and running in all directions. Some attempted to approach the fires to help but were driven back by the heavy heat that persisted for at least 30 minutes.
“There was nothing they could do,” Hutchinson said.
“And when firefighters got here, even they had to hang back. The fire was that intense.”
After firefighters arrived and began extinguishing the blaze, Hutchinson saw one pull a child seat from a burned vehicle.
Hutchinson, president of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable, said he and many of the nearby residents have repeatedly complained to county officials about cars speeding downhill on La Brea and blasting across Slauson. The intersection, he added, has become a hot spot for street takeovers.
La Brea and Slauson opened again at 3:30 a.m. Friday.
Windsor Hills is unincorporated county territory north of Inglewood and south of the 10 Freeway. The 405 Freeway is to the west.
“My heart goes out to the families that lost loved ones in the horrific car collision that occurred yesterday in Windsor Hills,” District Attorney George Gascón said in a Friday statement. “Our office is in close contact with the lead law-enforcement agency investigating.
“A prosecutor has already been assigned and will be working with law enforcement throughout the weekend,” he said. “The case could be presented to us as early as Monday.”
If Gascón’s office decides to prosecute the driver, it would determine what charges she will face, a decision that is likely to be announced next week.