Family members ran out of a Los Angeles courtroom after prosecutors showed gruesome video of a baby thrown from a car and another ripped from his mother’s womb during a fiery 2022 crash.
Prosecutors said traveling nurse Nicole Linton sped through a red light at 130 mph and slammed her Mercedes-Benz into several vehicles at the intersection of La Brea and Slauson avenues in Windsor Hills. The impact split one car in half and triggered a fiery nine-car pileup that killed six people.
The victims included 23-year-old Asherey Ryan, who was eight and a half months pregnant, her boyfriend, Reynold Lester, and her 11-month-old son, Alonzo Quintero. The family was reportedly heading to a prenatal appointment when the Mercedes crashed into their Jaguar.
During opening statements Tuesday, prosecutors said the impact threw Alonzo through the air before he landed at a stranger’s feet outside a nearby gas station. Surveillance footage showed witnesses picking up the baby from the ground.
Jurors also saw Ryan’s charred body and video of her unborn son, Armani, lying in the street with his umbilical cord still attached. Prosecutors said the collision ripped the baby from Ryan’s womb.
The graphic evidence prompted audible reactions inside the courtroom. Some relatives ran out, and one juror appeared visibly distraught. Linton also became emotional and cried at times during the presentation.
Linton, 39, is on trial for six counts of murder. Prosecutors originally charged her with five counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, but they dropped those charges last month. She has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors began their opening statement by telling jurors that “the defendant killed six people” before playing surveillance video of the Aug. 4, 2022, collision.
Authorities said Linton drove through the busy intersection at about 130 mph, causing two vehicles to explode. A California Highway Patrol investigator said the collision’s force split the Jaguar carrying Ryan and her family in half.
Two friends in another vehicle, 43-year-old Nathesia Lewis and 38-year-old Lynette Noble, also died in the fiery wreckage. Nine others, including Linton, also suffered injuries.
Prosecutors allege that Linton did not lose control of her Mercedes before the crash. Instead, they claim she left work upset and took her anger onto the road.
Earlier court documents showed that Linton allegedly “floored the gas pedal for at least the 5 seconds leading into the crash, going from 122 mph to 130 mph.” Prosecutors said she held the steering wheel steady as she barreled into the intersection.
They also plan to challenge the defense’s claim that a seizure caused Linton to lose consciousness. Prosecutors argue that Linton knew about her history of mental health problems before she got behind the wheel.
Linton’s defense attorneys said the prosecution’s theory does not explain why the intensive care nurse suddenly accelerated toward the intersection.
They said Linton had just left work and was driving home when she suffered a seizure or another medical emergency that caused her to lose control of the Mercedes.
The defense pointed out that Linton was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs. She was not using her phone, racing another driver, or arguing with anyone before the crash, her attorneys said.
Linton’s family and attorneys previously said doctors diagnosed her with bipolar disorder in 2018. They claimed her mental health declined during the months leading up to the collision.
Dr. William Winter, who treated Linton at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center after the crash, reportedly wrote that she had “no recollection of events.”
Prosecutors contend that Linton remained aware and deliberately accelerated before the crash. The jury will have to decide whether she suffered an uncontrollable medical emergency or consciously drove at a speed that endangered everyone around her.
Community members call Ryan, Lester, Alonzo, Armani, Lewis and Noble the “Slauson Six.” Their families have waited more than four years for the case to reach trial.
Family spokesperson Najee Ali said the graphic evidence shown in court captured images that relatives and witnesses would never forget.
“Their family members are not going to be brought back, but it’s important to have justice, but also closure,” Ali said.
He said the crash devastated more than the victims’ immediate relatives.
“Nicole Linton not only murdered six members of our community, it was as if she killed the whole community, because that community of Windsor Hills is still traumatized,” Ali said.
Cameras are not allowed inside the courtroom, but several witnesses and people injured in the crash testified Tuesday.
The trial is expected to last at least six weeks. Linton faces 90 years to life in prison if the jury convicts her on all six murder counts.