Tuesday 9 August 2022 03:49 PM ICU nurse who killed 6 in L.A. crash has 'profound' mental health issues and ... trends now
The traveling ICU nurse who killed six people in a horror crash in Los Angeles on Thursday after plowing her Mercedes 90mph through a busy intersection has a 'profound' history of mental illness and has been involved in 13 prior crashes, but was still somehow subcontracted to work in a hospital and allowed to drive.
Nicole Lorraine Linton, 37, is in custody on six murder charges as a result of Thursday's crash.
Among those she killed was pregnant Asherey Ryan, 23, her one-year-old son Alonzo and Reynold Lester, the father of Asherey's unborn baby, who also died.
On Tuesday, Craig Pitchford was named as another victim. Two other female victims remain unidentified.
Linton is from Houston, Texas, and was in Los Angeles working as a contractor at the Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles Hospital.
She was working for the nursing contractor group AMN Healthcare, which she joined in October 2020.
Nicole Lorraine Linton, 37, is in custody on six murder charges as a result of Thursday's crash
Linton sped through a red light at 90mph, plowing into cars at a busy intersection on August 4th. Six people and one unborn baby were killed
In court yesterday, her attorney said she had a 'profound' history of mental health problems.
He said they would have contributed to the crash, and asked for her arraignment to be delayed until October.
Craig Pitchford was named by his family as the fourth victim of the crash yesterday
Prosecutors also revealed that Linton was involved in 13 prior road accidents, including one in 2020 in which two vehicles were totaled.
The crashes were cited by The Los Angeles Times yesterday but no further details have emerged.
It remains unclear why Linton was able to work in healthcare, let alone in the ICU, with such extensive mental health problems as her attorney described.
On Monday, she sobbed in court as she was charged with six counts of murder.
Linton was traveling at speeds of at least 90mph
