XPost: talk.politics.guns, alt.politics.democrats, alt.california   
   XPost: alt, atheism   
      
   Note that the LA Times or "El Segundo Times" conspicuously omits the fact   
   that the drive is black.   
      
   A registered nurse was charged Monday with six counts of murder and five   
   counts of gross vehicular manslaughter in connection with a fiery crash in   
   Windsor Hills last week that killed a pregnant woman, a baby and three   
   other adults, the Los Angeles County district attorney announced.   
      
   Nicole Lorraine Linton, 37, is accused of reckless disregard for life in   
   connection with Thursday’s multi-vehicle crash. Prosecutors say the Los   
   Angeles woman was behind the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz that was speeding as   
   fast as 90 mph when she ran a red light shortly after 1:30 p.m. and plowed   
   into traffic at the busy intersection of La Brea and Slauson avenues.   
      
   Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón said Linton faces up to life   
   in prison if convicted of all charges.   
      
   “In an instant, Ms. Linton’s conduct took the lives of six people and   
   injured many others,” Gascón said.   
      
   To get a second-degree murder conviction, prosecutors must prove she acted   
   with implied malice and knew the act of driving at a high speed on city   
   streets was dangerous to human life.   
      
   Usually, such cases are brought if the driver is under the influence and   
   has a prior DUI conviction and has taken DUI education classes. In   
   Linton’s case, investigators found she has a history of dangerous crashes   
   and knew the threat posed by her driving behavior, prosecutors said.   
      
   California Highway Patrol investigators identified 13 prior crashes   
   involving Linton. Those incidents are the foundation for the district   
   attorney’s case that she knew the dangers of reckless driving.   
      
   However, Gascón said there is no evidence of any alcohol use by Linton at   
   this point.   
      
   “I know that some of you spoke to a woman that alleged they have been   
   drinking together. The CHP is working to identify this person, but we   
   don’t have any further information,” he said.   
      
   The district attorney declined to discuss what prompted the crash, saying   
   it was still under investigation and he was “not going to get into the   
   details.”   
      
   The murder charges against Linton are for the deaths of 23-year-old   
   Asherey Ryan; her nearly 1-year-old child, Alonzo Quintero; her boyfriend,   
   Reynold Lester; and their unborn child. Ryan was 8½ months pregnant when   
   she was killed. The boy she was carrying at the time was named Armani   
   Lester, according to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office. His date of   
   birth and date of death fell on the same day.   
      
   “A young family was destroyed in the blink of an eye,” Gascón said in   
   announcing the charges against Linton.   
      
   Linton also was charged with murder for the deaths of two women killed in   
   the crash who have yet to be identified. The five counts of vehicular   
   manslaughter against her are for the deaths of the four adults and the   
   baby, who was about two weeks shy of 1 year old. Ryan’s unborn child   
   cannot be included in those charges.   
      
   Surveillance video just before Thursday’s deadly crash shows a dark-   
   colored Mercedes barreling down La Brea Avenue at high speed as dozens of   
   cars cross on Slauson.   
      
   The Mercedes does not appear to slow before running a red light and   
   slamming into cars in the intersection. The car bursts into flames and   
   hurtles into a light pole, where it comes to rest. After the crash, a   
   streak of fire burned on the ground and billowing smoke could be seen from   
   miles away.   
      
   At least six vehicles were involved in the crash, according to CHP   
   investigators. In addition to the fatalities, eight people were injured.   
      
   Linton was hospitalized with moderate injuries for several days before   
   being taken into police custody.   
      
   Photographs posted online after the crash appear to show Linton sitting on   
   the curb with a bloody arm. She seems to be wearing hospital scrub pants   
   and a shirt that has writing on the breastplate and sleeve.   
      
   Images from the scene show massive front-end damage to the Mercedes, which   
   rammed headfirst into a light pole. A law enforcement source told The   
   Times that Linton suffered a broken foot and broken wrist in the   
   collision, but the car’s advanced air bag systems for a front-end   
   collision seem to have shielded her from the worst of the impact.   
      
   A specialized CHP accident investigation team is extracting data from the   
   Mercedes’ computers that capture speed, braking and acceleration. That   
   team worked through the weekend preparing an investigation for prosecutors   
   who specialize in handling deadly vehicular incidents.   
      
   On Monday, Linton appeared in court sitting in a wheelchair while wearing   
   a blue safety vest and a bandage around her left arm.   
      
   Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Natalie Stone denied her bail,   
   which previously had been set at $9 million, at the request of the   
   district attorney’s office, which said she is a flight risk. Linton’s   
   permanent address is in Texas, and she’s currently renting a room in Los   
   Angeles as a traveling nurse. She was set to travel to Hawaii for work,   
   prosecutors said.   
      
   Attorney Halim Dhanidina asked the court to continue Linton’s arraignment   
   to October because he is reviewing her out-of-state history of “documented   
   profound mental health issues.”   
      
   Dhanidina did not elaborate on Linton’s mental health but said the Windsor   
   Hills crash could be linked to those factors.   
      
   “She should have been aware of her limitations” before she got behind the   
   wheel, the judge said in denying Linton’s bail. A hearing on the matter   
   was set for Aug. 15.   
      
   Prosecutors said they are reviewing multiple previous crashes linked to   
   Linton — both in and out of California — including one in 2020 that   
   involved bodily injury in which two cars were totaled. Attorneys did not   
   elaborate on the nature of Linton’s involvement in those crashes.   
      
   Linton sobbed and waved to a family member before being wheeled away after   
   the hearing. Her attorney declined to comment on the murder case.   
      
   Outside the courtroom, Lester’s mother, Latanda Guy, and his sister, Dala   
   Guy, held a poster with pictures of him over the years.   
      
   “There are so many questions that remain as to what happened,” said   
   Latanda Guy, a registered nurse in Los Angeles County.   
      
   Dala Guy described her brother as goofy and full of jokes. He recently   
   started a job as a security guard.   
      
   “He was just building his family,” his mother said of Lester and Ryan and   
   their unborn child. “They were looking forward to starting a family.”   
      
   https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-08-08/mercedes-driver-   
   charged-with-murder-in-windsor-hills-crash   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)