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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.

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“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.

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Linton, the driver of the Mercedes, was arraigned Monday, Aug. 8, on charges including six counts of murder and five counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, KTLA reported.

District Attorney George Gascon said there are no signs that Linton was driving under the influence, but an investigation into the cause of the crash continues, the station said.

“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,” 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.

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This story was originally published August 7, 2022 at 12:10 PM with the headline "Nurse arrested in fiery crash that killed family going to prenatal checkup, CA cops say."

DS
Don Sweeney
The Sacramento Bee
Don Sweeney has been a newspaper reporter and editor in California for more than 35 years. He is a service reporter based at The Sacramento Bee.
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