The Nicole Lorraine Linton case is a Los Angeles County criminal prosecution against a Houston-area travel nurse charged with six counts of murder and five counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence after she drove a Mercedes-Benz into a Windsor Hills intersection at roughly 130 mph on August 4, 2022, killing six people. Linton has pleaded not guilty, remains jailed without bail, and faces up to 90 years to life if convicted. A judge denied her motion to dismiss in March 2025, and the case is moving toward trial.
What Happened at La Brea and Slauson
On the afternoon of August 4, 2022, Linton was driving a 2018 Mercedes-Benz southbound on La Brea Avenue in Windsor Hills, an unincorporated community in Los Angeles County. Data pulled from the car’s electronic data recorder showed she was going 122 mph five seconds before impact with the accelerator fully depressed the entire time, reaching 130 mph at the moment of collision. The data also showed her hands held the wheel steady.1Los Angeles Times. Nurse Nicole Linton Hit 130 MPH Before Fiery Windsor Hills Crash, Court Documents Say
Surveillance video showed the Mercedes running a light that had been red for about 15 seconds and broadsiding vehicles lawfully in the intersection.2ABC7. Nurse Nicole Lorraine Linton Pleads Not Guilty in Fiery Crash That Killed 6 A California Highway Patrol officer testified that Linton’s speed had been around 55 mph less than 20 seconds before the crash before climbing sharply. At least one struck vehicle exploded into flames. Eight other people were injured in the chain-reaction collision.3CBS News. Nurse Charged in Windsor Hills Crash That Killed 6 People Pleads Not Guilty
Who Died
- Asherey Ryan, 23, who was eight and a half months pregnant.
- Her unborn son, whom the family had named Armani.
- Alonzo Quintero, Ryan’s 11-month-old son.
- Reynold Lester, 24, Ryan’s fiancé and the father of her unborn child.
- Nathesia Lewis, 42.
- Lynette Noble, 38.4Los Angeles Times. Mental State of Suspect in Fiery Deadly L.A. Crash Probed in Court
Who Nicole Linton Is
Linton was 37 at the time of the crash. She lived in Houston and worked as a traveling ICU nurse, placed at Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles Medical Center through AMN Healthcare Services. She had previously enrolled in a certified registered nurse anesthetist program but dropped out after a manic episode in May 2019.5Nurse.org. Nurse Nicole Linton Family Tell Story
Prosecutors noted Linton did not hold a valid California driver’s license at the time of the crash and had a prior collision with bodily injury in 2020 that totaled two cars.3CBS News. Nurse Charged in Windsor Hills Crash That Killed 6 People Pleads Not Guilty The Los Angeles Times reported she had been involved in 13 prior crashes, though the CHP and district attorney’s office declined to release her full record while the investigation was active.6New York Post. LA Crash Suspect Nicole Linton Has Previous Accidents Her defense attorney at the time, Halim Dhanidina, told the court reports of an extensive accident history were “not true.”
Mental Health and the Day of the Crash
Linton’s mental health has been central to the case from the start. Her family disclosed she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2018, had been hospitalized for psychiatric treatment at least twice, and had been prescribed lithium and lorazepam. In 2018 she received a disorderly conduct citation in Houston after jumping onto a police squad car during what was described as a panic attack, and she was committed to a psychiatric unit afterward.7Houston Chronicle. Houston Nurse LA Deadly Car Crash Trial Update
Prosecutors told the court Linton stopped taking her medications before starting the California assignment. They introduced internet searches she made in the weeks before the crash, including “Can you see your death coming?” and “Why do I feel death is near?” made four days before the collision, along with earlier searches about anxiety and inability to eat or sleep, and a document titled “Bitter F—ing Nurse” that referenced suicide. Deputy District Attorney Brittany Vannoy called Linton a “ticking time bomb” who knew stress and lack of sleep were her triggers and chose to drive anyway.4Los Angeles Times. Mental State of Suspect in Fiery Deadly L.A. Crash Probed in Court
On the day of the crash, Linton was working a 12-hour shift that began at 7:00 a.m. She left the hospital around 1:00 p.m. without telling supervisors or getting permission.8Rulings.law. 23CHCV00877 Ruling A psychiatrist who treated her afterward, Dr. Kristen Lee, testified Linton said she had left a work potluck upset by co-workers and remembered crying while driving but did not remember the crash. EMTs found her sitting on the curb, bleeding and confused, unable to give her own name. When she heard a paramedic confirm multiple deaths, she asked, “Did I kill people? Did I hurt people?”4Los Angeles Times. Mental State of Suspect in Fiery Deadly L.A. Crash Probed in Court
The Criminal Charges
Linton was arraigned in Los Angeles Superior Court on August 8, 2022. The six murder counts include one for Ryan’s unborn child.9WWNY TV. Driver in Fiery Crash That Killed 5 Charged With Murder The murder counts rest on implied malice — conscious disregard for human life — rather than any allegation Linton set out to kill anyone.
The preliminary hearing ran roughly ten days of testimony and two days of argument before Superior Court Judge Eleanor J. Hunter. Prosecutors argued the acceleration was “conscious and deliberate,” pointing to the data showing a floored pedal and steady steering. Emergency room doctors who treated Linton found no signs of a recent seizure or loss of consciousness.10NBC Los Angeles. Windsor Hills Crash Bail Review Hearing
Then-defense attorney Caleb Mason countered that the vehicle data was consistent with a seizure, during which involuntary muscle tension could keep her foot pressed on the accelerator, and a defense-retained neurologist backed that theory. Judge Hunter was not persuaded. She noted post-crash EEG testing showed no seizure activity and pointed to “certain movements and gestures” during testing that she said could support a malingering argument, particularly given that Linton had previously acknowledged lying. Hunter ordered Linton to stand trial on all counts.2ABC7. Nurse Nicole Lorraine Linton Pleads Not Guilty in Fiery Crash That Killed 6
Linton formally pleaded not guilty to all charges on November 7, 2024.11Whittier Daily News. Nurse Pleads Not Guilty in Windsor Hills Crash That Killed 6
Where the Case Stands
By early 2025, Linton had new counsel. Attorney Travis Daily filed a motion to dismiss, calling the crash a “catastrophic accident” and arguing the evidence did not support murder. On March 18, 2025, Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo, who now oversees the case, denied the motion, citing Judge Hunter’s earlier finding that sufficient evidence existed for trial. Linton was scheduled for a pretrial hearing on April 29, 2025, and no trial date had been publicly set as of the most recent available reporting.12MyNewsLA. Judge Refuses to Dismiss Case vs. Nurse Charged With Crash That Killed Six
Linton remains in Los Angeles County jail without bail.
Civil Lawsuits Against Linton and Her Employers
The victims’ families have pursued civil claims on a separate track. By August 2023, at least three wrongful death lawsuits had been filed. One brought by the family of Nathesia Lewis named Linton, AMN Healthcare Services, and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, alleging negligence, wrongful death, and negligent hiring, training, and retention. The suit accused the defendants of ignoring Linton’s history of crashes, arrests, manic episodes, and psychiatric hospitalizations.13Law & Crime. Family Blames Traveling Nurse, Her Employer for High-Speed Fiery Wreck
Kaiser Permanente said Linton was not its employee but a contractor supplied through AMN. In a February 2025 ruling, a judge granted AMN Healthcare’s motion for summary adjudication on the negligence, wrongful death, and negligent entrustment claims, finding Linton was not acting within the scope of her employment at the time of the crash: she had left the hospital without permission, was not on any work task or errand, and AMN neither owned nor controlled her vehicle.8Rulings.law. 23CHCV00877 Ruling
Nursing License
The California Board of Registered Nursing suspended Linton’s license to practice nursing pending resolution of her criminal case.14Fox LA. Nurse Accused in Deadly Windsor Hills Crash Suspended From Practicing Nursing