Advertisement

Nurse arrested in fiery crash that killed family going to prenatal checkup, CA cops say

A fiery crash at a Windsor Hills gas station that killed six people, including a family going to a prenatal checkup, has resulted in the arrest of a traveling nurse, California police reported.

A Mercedes traveling 100 mph ran a red light and slammed into several vehicles, sending some careening into a nearby gas station, at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 4, KTTV reported.

“All of a sudden, I heard a big explosion...and flames went over my whole car...I thought my car was on fire,” Debra Jackson, who was at the station getting gas, told KCBS.

Six people died and eight were injured, California Highway Patrol officers told KTLA.

Among the dead are Asherey Ryan, who was 8½ months pregnant, her 11-month-old son and her boyfriend, who were on their way to a prenatal checkup, the Los Angeles Times reported.

“My family was broken yesterday, and we’re still broken,” Sha’seana Kerr, Asherey’s sister, told KABC. Two other women and a man also died in the crash.

On Friday, Aug. 5, California Highway Patrol officers arrested Nicole Linton, 37, a traveling nurse from Texas, on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, KTLA reported.

Linton, the driver of the Mercedes, remains hospitalized and will be formally charged Monday, Aug. 8, according to the station.

“It’s impossible to imagine the pain those involved are experiencing,” Kaiser Permanente, where Linton was working, told KTTV in a statement. “Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragedy.”

“This incredible tragedy has sent shockwaves throughout Los Angeles and the loss of so many precious lives will have a lasting impact on those that are closest to them,” District Attorney George Gascon told KCBS in a statement.

Security video shows the speeding Mercedes slam into several vehicles, which explode in flames, and skid into the gas station. One vehicle was cut in half, KABC reported.

“Everyone was just shocked,” Eran Hall, who works at a nearby gas station, told the Los Angeles Times. “Some people started to run away from the gas station because of all the flames. Other people started helping the drivers in the other cars that were pushed to the side.”

Among the injured were six children and two adults, KCBS reported.

Windsor Hills is a neighborhood near Inglewood southwest of downtown Los Angeles.

3 girls escape fiery Utah crash, but dad dies a day after his anniversary, reports say

Driver barrels through Native American parade, sending 15 to hospital, NM cops say