Victims’ family members will join with County Supervisor Holly Mitchell and local residents Friday to mark the one-year anniversary of a fiery crash in the Windsor Hills area that killed six people, including an infant, a pregnant woman and her fetus.
Friday’s event near the intersection of La Brea and Slauson avenues, near Ladera Park, will feature the unveiling of the Slauson Six Memorial Bench and Community Garden, according to Mitchell’s office. Activist Najee Ali and area residents will join the supervisor at the 9:30 a.m. ceremony.
The Aug. 4, 2022, crash occurred when a Mercedes-Benz sped through the intersection of La Brea and Slauson — plowing through a red light in the 35 mph zone on La Brea at a speed authorities estimated at close to 100 mph.
The crash ignited an inferno as a sedan struck by the Mercedes was pushed into at least one other vehicle, with both winding up against a gas station sign on the corner. A trail of fire was left burning as the vehicles struck by the speeding driver were engulfed in flames.
In all, eight vehicles, including the Mercedes-Benz, were involved in the collision, the California Highway Patrol reported. Eight other people were injured.
A traveling nurse from Texas, Nicole Lorraine Linton, survived the crash with moderate injuries and was charged with six counts of murder and five counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.
Linton was arrested by the CHP the day of the crash and remains jailed without bail. She is due back in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Sept. 12. A date is scheduled to be set then for a preliminary hearing, at which a judge will determine whether there is sufficient evidence to require her to stand trial. Linton’s attorney has indicated in news reports that she suffers from mental health issues.
The pregnant woman who died in the crash was identified as 23-year-old Asherey Ryan of Los Angeles. According to Ryan’s family, the woman’s year-old son, Alonzo Quintero, was also killed, along with Ryan’s boyfriend, Reynold Lester, who was the father of her unborn son. A relative said Ryan was 8 1/2 months pregnant and was on her way to a doctor’s appointment when the crash occurred.
Also killed in the crash were Nathesia Lewis, 43, and her friend, 38-year-old Lynette Noble, who were in another car.
Community activists gathered at the intersection following the crash, creating a memorial of candles and flowers.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson, president of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable, who lives near the crash site, told reporters at the time that the intersection has been historically dangerous with speeding vehicles, as well as the scene of occasional street takeovers.
About a month after the crash, the Board of Supervisors called for a series of studies and immediate steps aimed at slowing traffic at the crossroad and other high-danger roadways.
“Disturbingly, traffic fatalities have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, and reckless speeding, street takeovers and erratic driver behavior has become widespread,” Mitchell wrote in a motion at the time.
“We need to explore the availability of additional tools to improve our infrastructure and to hold people accountable to mitigate dangerous driver behavior and keep people alive.”