Lawyers for driver accused of killing 5 people deny accident history

Lawyers for the nurse accused of causing the Windsor Hills accident that killed five people denied on Monday that their client has a long history of car accidents.

“It’s been widely reported and it’s not true,” said Halim Dhanidina, who represents Nicole Lorraine Linton, a travel nurse who worked at Kaiser Permanente’s West Los Angeles Medical Center before the Aug. 4 crash.

“Our initial investigation has demonstrated that this allegation that has been circulated in the media is patently false,” Dhanidina said of the claim that Linton was involved in 13 other crashes before the one at Windsor Hills.

Linton was due to have a bail hearing on Monday, but his lawyers have asked a judge to postpone it for another two weeks so they can continue to investigate and prepare.

Linton is currently being held without bond at the Century Regional Detention Center and did not appear in court for Monday’s brief hearing.

“All things considered, she’s trying to hold her head high and looking forward to a new resolution in court,” Dhanidina told The Times outside the courtroom.

Linton is charged with six counts of murder and five counts of manslaughter in the crash. She is accused of driving her Mercedes-Benz at around 90 mph down La Brea Avenue toward Slauson Avenue and then ramming into numerous cars, setting them on fire.

Five people died, including a pregnant woman. Prosecutors brought a murder charge against Linton for the death of the unborn child.

The crash was captured on surveillance video.

Asherey Ryan, 23, was killed along with her boyfriend, Reynold Lester, her 11-month-old child, Alonzo Quintero, and her unborn child. Two women in another car, Nathesia Lewis, 42, and Lynette Noble, 38, were also killed.

The Times was able to find records of at least two crashes in which Linton was previously involved. In 2013, she failed to accelerate at a green light in Laredo, Texas, and was rear-ended, according to Texas Department of Transportation data. In 2016, the same thing happened in Houston. She was not responsible for any of these accidents.

She is due back in court on August 31.