Nurse Facetimed sister naked, suffered ‘lapse of consciousness’ before deadly crash in California
The Texas nurse accused of causing a crash that claimed the lives of five people and an unborn child was in the midst of a severe mental crisis and may have lost consciousness in the moments before she plowed her Mercedes Benz through a red light and into a bustling intersection just outside Los Angeles last month, according to new court documents filed by her attorney.
Nicole Linton’s battle with bipolar disorder and her subsequent struggle to find effective treatment began some four years before the fiery crash, according to medical records that were part of court documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times. The filings provide some of the only insight so far into what happened just before Linton raced through a red light in the Windsor Hills neighborhood.
“In the days and hours leading up to the events of August 4, Nicole’s behavior became increasingly frightening,” her attorneys wrote.
Nicole Linton appears in Los Angeles Superior Court for arraignment on murder charges stemming from a traffic accident, Monday, Aug. 8, 2022, in Los Angeles. (Frederick M. Brown/)
Linton had just finished lunch when she triggered the multi-vehicle wreck. During the break, she Facetimed her sister completely naked and then called her again around 1:24 p.m., just minutes before the crash. She said she’d just left work again and that she planned to visit Houston the next day so she could do her niece’s hair and “that she would be getting married and that her sister should meet her at the altar,” the lawyers wrote.
Linton was traveling at speeds exceeding 90 mph when her Mercedes Benz sped through the intersection at 1:30 p.m. Doctors believe that Linton suffered an “apparent lapse of consciousness” at the time of the crash.
“She has no recollection of the events that led to her collision,” Dr. William Winter, who treated Linton after the crash, wrote on Aug. 6. “The next thing she recalled was lying on the pavement and seeing that her car was on fire.”
Linton, suspected of causing a fiery crash that killed five people and an 8 1/2-month-old fetus near Los Angeles, has been charged with murder, as well as vehicular manslaughter, and is being held on $9 million bail. (Frederick M. Brown/)
Five people were killed, including a pregnant woman driving to a prenatal checkup with her boyfriend and young son. The Los Angeles County District Attorney earlier this month charged Linton with six counts of murder, which includes the fetus. She is also facing five counts of manslaughter.
According to family members, Linton suffered her first mental breakdown in May 2018, when she was a nursing student at the University of Texas in Houston. In one incident, she leaped on top of police cars, was arrested for disorderly conduct and committed to the psychiatric unit, where she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Her sister, Camille Linton, said in a letter to the court that her sibling’s efforts to become a nurse anesthetist caused her first mental health breakdown.
Nicole Linton appears in Los Angeles Superior Court for arraignment on murder charges stemming from a traffic accident, Monday, Aug. 8, 2022, in Los Angeles. (Frederick M. Brown/)
“The stress was too much for her and it ‘broke’ her,” Camille Linton wrote. “Thus beginning the journey of Nicole’s 4-year struggle with mental illness.”
After her 2018 arrest, Linton called family from the police station and told them she was concerned for her pet turtle. The next day, she said she was possessed by her dead grandmother, according to court documents.
Linton was involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital roughly a year after her diagnosis and eventually stopped taking her medication during the pandemic, causing her mental state to further deteriorate, according to loved ones.
Nicole Linton appears in Los Angeles Superior Court for arraignment on murder charges stemming from a traffic accident, Monday, Aug. 8, 2022, in Los Angeles. (Frederick M. Brown/)
“Mental incapacitation and unconsciousness are, of course, complete defenses to crimes under California law,” Linton’s attorneys note.
Linton’s lawyers further argued should be released for testing at UCLA Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital. They said she would wear an ankle monitor or submit to any other conditions imposed by the court. As of Thursday, she remained behind bars in lieu of a $300,000 bond.
