Family of nurse charged in Windsor Hills crash advocates for mental health awareness
LOS ANGELES - The family of Nicole Linton — the driver charged with murdering five people and an unborn child in a crash in Windsor Hills in August — is speaking up and advocating for more mental health awareness through a new website designed to share Linton's story.
Camille Linton, one of Nicole Linton's older sisters, published a website recently called Nicole's Story, in which she expresses remorse for the victims killed in the Aug. 4 crash and their families; details her sister's battles with mental health struggles; and explains what happened on the day of the crash, from their family's perspective.
"I am writing this post because I want to increase awareness of mental health issues and how our society treats the mentally ill," Camille Linton wrote. "What happened on [Aug.] 4th did not happen on purpose but was a tragic accident. Far too many individuals and families in this country are struggling with having to experience, diagnose and treat mental illness on their own. As a society, we aren’t doing enough and we’ve seen how that can have tragic consequences. That has to change."
On the site, Camille Linton says her sister's been struggling with manic episodes as far back as 2018. In May of that year, Nicole Linton was arrested in Houston, according to her sister, though she didn't elaborate on why. During the arrest, Camille says her sister was erratic and at one point went into a catatonic state.
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Nicole Linton's defense team wants her tested for neurological and psychiatric conditions, saying that she may have been unconscious or in a similar catatonic state at the time of the incident. Last week court records showed that Nicole Linton's Mercedes reached speeds of up to 130 miles per hour and that the car accelerated seconds before the crash. Camille Linton tells FOX 11's Susan Hirasuna that the defense is contesting the data obtained from the car's data recorder.
"My biggest fear is that the horrific nature of the accident will blind people both inside and outside of the court to the evidence that is likely to come out in this case that will show that this truly was a tragic accident and that Nicole's fate will be determined by the public's misperception about her rather than the facts or the law," Camille Linton told FOX 11.
Twenty-three-old Asherey Ryan died in the crash along with her nearly-one-year-old son Alonzo Quintero, her unborn child Armani Lester, her boyfriend and Armani's father Ryan Lester, 43-year-old Nathesha Lewis, and Lynette Noble.