We are learning more about the mental state of the Houston nurse who is charged with driving too fast through a busy Windsor Hills junction, killing six people including a pregnant woman, her infant son, and an unborn child.
Following an almost two-week delay at the request of Nicole Linton’s counsel, the bail review hearing is now scheduled for Wednesday. The defence team for Linton asked for extra time to examine allegations that Linton has a history of car accidents as well as mental health problems.
Linton was in a health crisis in the days, hours, and minutes prior to driving her fast Mercedes through the La Brea and Slauson crossroads on August 4. This information was revealed in new court records published on Tuesday.
These documents state that Linton has no memory of the collision and might have passed out just before it.
Four years ago, Linton received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. According to Linton’s attorneys, she stopped taking her medicine during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The documents also showed Linton had previous encounters with the police. In one such occasion, she leaped on a police patrol car in 2018 after suffering a panic episode when authorities approached her and inquired about her pet turtle.
According to court documents, Linton FaceTimed her sister when she was completely naked after calling her sister while driving home from the hospital for lunch.
Since the fatal collision, Linton has been detained in custody. Her defence attorneys recommended that she be treated in a mental institution and freed on bond. Her defence will make the case for that today.
According to investigators, Linton was involved in 13 collisions outside of California. One of the collisions apparently happened as recently as 2020, according to prosecutors, and additional people were hurt in that instance.
There is no proof that alcohol contributed to the Windsor Hills crash, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, who also noted that the investigation is ongoing.
Linton may spend up to 90 years to life in prison if found guilty as charged.
