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Nurse whom police said caused deadly LA crash charged

The woman whom police said ran a red light, causing a crash that killed several people, has been charged.

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The Los Angeles County District Attorney announced Monday that Nicole Lorraine Linton has been charged with six counts of murder and five counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, The Associated Press reported.

Linton faces life in prison if convicted, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Linton did not enter a plea and her case has been continued until October. Linton was initially held on $2 million bail, which was then raised to $9 million before a judge on Monday ordered her to be held without bail until a hearing next week, KABC reported

Prosecutors said Linton was driving her Mercedes-Benz at 90 mph on Thursday when she ran a red light and hit several cars in Windsor Hills, southwest of downtown Los Angeles, the AP reported.

Surveillance video showed that the car did not slow down before it ran the red light, the Times reported.

Victims were thrown from the cars. Three of the vehicles caught fire.

Ashley Ryan, 23, her 11-month-old son Alonzo Quintero and Ryan’s boyfriend, Reynold Lester, were killed.

Ryan was 8 1/2 months pregnant and the family was on the way to a doctor’s appointment when they were killed, KABC reported.

Ryan’s unborn child accounts for the sixth murder charge Linton is facing but she could not be legally charged with vehicular manslaughter for the unborn baby.

Two other women were also killed, but their names have not yet been released.

Eight people were hurt in the crash, the Times reported.

Linton’s defense attorney said his client had a history of “profound mental health issues” that may be connected to the crash, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Police did not find any evidence that Linton had been drinking. However, she has had at least 13 previous crashes, the newspaper reported. Prosecutors said that Linton knew the dangers of reckless driving.

Linton is a traveling nurse from Houston who was recently working in Los Angeles, KABC reported.