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Windsor Hills crash: Bail denied for travel nurse in fiery wreck
Nicole Linton‘s defense attorney tried to make the argument the 37-year-old needs a secured mental health facility to get the care she needs, not jail.
LOS ANGELES - After multiple delays citing mental health concerns, the bail hearing was held for 37-year-old Nicole Linton, the travel nurse accused of running a red light and plowing her speeding Mercedes through a busy intersection in Windsor Hills in early August, killing six people.
Linton on Monday was ordered to remain jailed without bail. She is next due in court Oct. 26 for arraignment.
Upon the announcement, FOX 11's Susan Hirasuna said applause erupted in the courtroom in downtown Los Angeles.
In the courtroom were some of the family members and loved ones of the deceased victims in the first two row – each dressed in a purple t-shirt with photos of 23-year-old Asheray Ryan, baby Alonzo, and her unborn baby’s father, Reynold Lester.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said his office cannot file the manslaughter charge in a case involving an unborn child.
On Friday, Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said Linton remains a danger to the public and should be considered a flight risk.
Linton‘s defense attorney tried to make the argument that she needs a secured mental health facility to get the care she needs, not jail.
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"In an attempt to paint what we know was a horrific conscious act as an accident, the defense has conflated the possibility of (the) defendant suffering a mental health episode prior to the crash with the now defunct notion of loss of consciousness at the time of the crash," the motion states.
Despite the defense attorney’s argument, the judge Monday sided with the deputy DAs that presented data analysis of Linton‘s car, which revealed that she was going 130 mph. In addition, prosecutors argued she put pressure on the accelerator for at least five seconds while maintaining contact with the steering wheel to keep the car on track to go through the intersection with a red light for at least nine seconds.
The crash occurred at the intersection of S. La Brea and Slauson avenues on Aug. 4. Surveillance video that captured the fiery collision shows the driver of a Mercedes-Benz speeding through the intersection at what investigators estimate to be 90 mph. In addition, Linton did not appear to brake, authorities said.
Upon impact, Linton’s Mercedes-Benz and two other vehicles erupted into flames. The violent wreck came to a stop at the southwest corner of the intersection after at least one vehicle struck a gas station sign.
A California Highway Patrol officer described the crash scene as something that "almost looks like a war zone."
Investigators claim Linton has been involved in 13 crashes outside of California. Prosecutors said last week one of the crashes reportedly occurred as recently as 2020 and in that incident, other people were injured in the collision.
Experts at UCLA determined she did not suffer a "medical event such as a syncope or seizure" and that her lack of recollection was likely the result of a psychiatric episode or trauma from the crash, prosecutors said.
Last month, the Board of Registered Nursing confirmed Linton has been suspended from practicing nursing in the state of California.
FOX News contributed to this report.