CA - Nicole Lorraine Linton, 37, speeds through intersection kills 6, including pregnant woman in fiery crash, Los Angeles, 4 Aug. '22

This woman was involved in THIRTEEN previous crashes, and has a history of “documented profound mental health issues,” on top of no judgement, control or self awareness in racing 90 miles/hr through a busy intersection ?

What on earth is she doing as an ICU nurse, entrusted with the care of seriously ill people ??? How is it possible she got this job?
My daughter is presently applying for CA registration and it's taking 3 months to go through her records, experience, background, education,.. everything.

I'm speechless.

I couldn't find records for 13 previous crashes. And some people are just crappy drivers. I did see that some of those crashes might have been her being rear-ended?

Working as a nurse is highly stressful, working on the front lines as a nurse during the pandemic has been brutal. This might be an unpopular opinion, but health care workers also get depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues. Many get counseling. Many have their own psychiatrists and providers. This is nothing new or suggesting of not being fit to practice. I got counseling during the pandemic for caregiver burnout. Should I lose my license? Should my friends who are doctor or nurses who get help for mental health concerns lose their licenses? Documented profound mental health issues could mean a lot of things. Keep in mind, none of these issues were so unmanageable that her mental health providers and experts felt they needed to be mandatory reporters. We all have our masks in every profession. We can be very competent and also a mess in our day-to-day lives.

And yes, to get licensed you are screened, finger printed, and they look for anything that is legally reportable. DUIs, domestic violence, Mental Health holds, all of those things. Trust me, what happened is horrific, I just would like more facts. Watching that video was shocking.


Does she have a permanent residence in Houston?
So the Mercedes is hers, she drove it from TX to CA and then was planning on driving it back cross country to Texas to hop a plane to Hawaii for her next job?
Wonder how long she had been in CA and where she had worked prior to that gig.
JMO

That is the nature of travel nursing. 12-16 week assignments in various places. Sometimes 4 or more assignments a year. She has her home base/tax state. Usually a state with no income tax. She would drive to locations requiring a vehicle. Fly to Hawaii, rent a vehicle. Keep in mind, when you are working shorter assignments in various locations that have staffing issues, so holding together oneself professionally for a short duration is not too difficult.
 
As a previous employee of this travel nurse company and others (internal recruiter) there is no vetting of a person's mental health. They are confirmed as having a valid license for their position and take a test to show their nursing qualifications (if that's the position) and the specific skills such as ICU, ER, Med-Surg, etc. We never have and never would ask someone for their medical information with exception to their vaccine record as required by the state or facility they will be working.

And I’m sure most travel company’s are the same. Especially right now as healthcare facilities are desperate.

It is against Federal Law and ADA rights for employers to ask an applicant for information about disease and illness. They also can't about pregnancy, whether or not you have children, religious beliefs, etc. due to laws to protect from discrimination. These questions would not be screened during a hiring process unless you want a huge lawsuit. And it is also illegal for a previous employer to discuss this as well. This is for any job, health care or not.
 
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I couldn't find records for 13 previous crashes. And some people are just crappy drivers. I did see that some of those crashes might have been her being rear-ended?

Working as a nurse is highly stressful, working on the front lines as a nurse during the pandemic has been brutal. This might be an unpopular opinion, but health care workers also get depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues. Many get counseling. Many have their own psychiatrists and providers. This is nothing new or suggesting of not being fit to practice. I got counseling during the pandemic for caregiver burnout. Should I lose my license? Should my friends who are doctor or nurses who get help for mental health concerns lose their licenses? Documented profound mental health issues could mean a lot of things. Keep in mind, none of these issues were so unmanageable that her mental health providers and experts felt they needed to be mandatory reporters. We all have our masks in every profession. We can be very competent and also a mess in our day-to-day lives.

And yes, to get licensed you are screened, finger printed, and they look for anything that is legally reportable. DUIs, domestic violence, Mental Health holds, all of those things. Trust me, what happened is horrific, I just would like more facts. Watching that video was shocking.




That is the nature of travel nursing. 12-16 week assignments in various places. Sometimes 4 or more assignments a year. She has her home base/tax state. Usually a state with no income tax. She would drive to locations requiring a vehicle. Fly to Hawaii, rent a vehicle. Keep in mind, when you are working shorter assignments in various locations that have staffing issues, so holding together oneself professionally for a short duration is not too difficult.

Thank you for your realistic and compassionate post. I have a number of nurse friends and the pandemic has been brutal, as you say. I think they are able to compartmentalize their personal life separate from their professional life, just as in any profession. Struggling with depression and anxiety doesn’t make someone a bad nurse, doctor, teacher, etc.

In due time we will learn what happened, just as we will in the similar, but not deadly, case of the actress Anne Heche, assuming she survives. Both are horrific events! In the meantime, I wish for both of these women to get needed help. And I wish comfort and peace for those affected by their actions.

On another note, that’s such a good point about the short duration of assignments making it easier to hold oneself together. I love traveling nurses! Our small hospital (about 45 beds) is substantially staffed with traveling nurses. I’ve been in the hospital twice in the past 18 months (once for covid) and had only one local nurse each time. I’ve been so impressed with the care I’ve received from the travelers from all over the country. I don’t know what we’d do without them!
 
It is against Federal Law and ADA rights for employers to ask an applicant for information about disease and illness. They also can't about pregnancy, whether or not you have children, religious beliefs, etc. due to laws to protect from discrimination. These questions would not be screened during a hiring process unless you want a huge lawsuit. And it is also illegal for a previous employer to discuss this as well. This is for any job, health care or not.

You are correct! And this is a HUGE controversy in medicine because many licensing questions do not meet ADA criteria because they DO ask these questions. I'm a physician, so I haven't filled out nursing licensing paperwork, but physician licensing in some states does ask about history of mental health diagnoses. If you google it, you'll see a ton of media on the topic.

As to workplaces not wanting it in the paper, that may be an excuse they use to cover for an employee but it isn't based in fact. When someone is reported to the board of nursing or medicine, it's a private matter UNLESS there's action taken against the license. So for example, if I suspected my nurse was coming to work drunk, I could report it (even anonymously). They would investigate, maybe call in my nurse for an evaluation, maybe send her for treatment. If she completed treatment, no one would know anything. It would be HIPAA protected information. However, if she refused treatment, then the board would sanction her license and that would be public record. Some do refuse treatment, but there's a reason for that. It's a big, big controversy in medicine that will derail this thread if I went into it so let's just leave it at, if she has been reported and refused treatment, we'd know.
 
So she's giving the middle finger at the people she's about to kill? At the world?

I watched the video of her in court. She had a blank expression except when her sister was mentioned, and cried when bail was denied by the judge.

I still can't believe she was an ICU nurse.

The image still appears rectangular to me, like a cell phone.

I too saw that blank look then crying, throw the book at her.

I have no sympathy for her, don’t give a dang about her health or what happened that day.

Jmo
 
California Highway Patrol investigators identified 13 prior crashes involving Linton. Those incidents are the foundation for the district attorney’s case that she knew the dangers of reckless driving.

However, Gascón said there is no evidence of any alcohol use by Linton at this point.

“I know that some of you spoke to a woman that alleged they have been drinking together. The CHP is working to identify this person, but we don’t have any further information,” he said.

The district attorney declined to discuss what prompted the crash, saying it was still under investigation and he was “not going to get into the details.”


Eta

Attorney Halim Dhanidina asked the court to continue Linton’s arraignment to October because he is reviewing her out-of-state history of “documented profound mental health issues.”
 
I genuinely believe that she’s holding her phone and filming her suicide, and why they were able to charge her with murder immediately. Jmo though!
Can any attorneys weigh in here? What would be the reason for the murder charge? From my (admittedly limited) criminal justice education in/about California, charging someone who killed another person with their car with murder is extremely rare/difficult and depends on certain factors. What are those factors and how would they relate to this case?
 
I'm on my phone so I don't have the link, but I listened to the hearing this morning.

-The tox screen came back clean, no drugs or alcohol.
-She has been in California for a year and was preparing to go to Hawaii
-Her DL license was from Texas.
-Her sister was at the hearing and is working on finding a psychiatric facility she can be placed instead of jail.
-Attorney responded to the DAs statement about an car accident in 2020. I couldn't hear what all the DA said, but her Attorney said something about cause/fault wasn't known.
-Judge said no bail because being a nurse she should have been aware of her limitations.

The rest was pretty much standard hearing wranglings.
Limitations in regard to what?
 
I asked that earlier in the thread, after looking at the video frame by frame. I couldn't tell what she was doing other than it looked like her arm was out the driver's window. I gave a list of possibilities but said I didn't know as I couldn't distinguish a clear enough picture to know. (The enlarged screen grab shows it more clearly than I could see it looking through the video myself; with the new screen grab, it does indeed look like she's holding a phone in her hand. Imo.)

I was throwing theories out there. But they were just that -- theories. Not fact.

Sorry if I added to any confusion.

MOO.
It wasn't your post I had seen, it was somewhere else not related to this forum. I can't remember where though.
 
she
Documented profound mental health issues. Just Lovely

Jmo
I like the term "profound"- what exactly does that mean.
Clearly she was able to hold a very responsible job--- she travelled all over the country as
a nurse and made very good money
she may have mental health issues- lots of people do--
Profoundly mentally ill would seem to describe someone that was not able to function very well---
JMO
 
she

I like the term "profound"- what exactly does that mean.
Clearly she was able to hold a very responsible job--- she travelled all over the country as
a nurse and made very good money
she may have mental health issues- lots of people do--
Profoundly mentally ill would seem to describe someone that was not able to function very well---
JMO
I think a person can be profoundly ill and still able to function in some ways. For example, if a person is profoundly depressed, or suffering from profound depression, they may still be going to work every day and doing their job. But after work they only eat from a drive through, don't clean their house,don't do laundry etc. Also mental illness isn't always necessarily present in every moment of every day. The person is still ill, and sometimes the symptoms grow more severe, other times they seem to abate some. But people are incredibly adaptive and good at hiding their struggles.

IF she had a moment of extreme symptoms and thought she was going to hurt herself driving into traffic like that, she may not have been very connected to reality at the time, and the thought that there were other people she was going to hurt never even crossed her mind.

It could also be that she just didn't care. No one really knows but her I suppose.

But there are definitely, without a doubt, a LOT more people existing in our society every day who are a LOT more ill than we realize, because we always expect them to be nearly incapacitated. I don't think that's an accurate tell.

MOO.
 
Can any attorneys weigh in here? What would be the reason for the murder charge? From my (admittedly limited) criminal justice education in/about California, charging someone who killed another person with their car with murder is extremely rare/difficult and depends on certain factors. What are those factors and how would they relate to this case?
I haven't seen the actual charging documents here, just read the reports that she was charged with murder and some manslaughter charges as well. The DA apparently believes that this was not an accident in any way and Linton intentionally rammed into traffic. The hand/phone raised out of the window could support this idea. This would meet the element of Malice necessary for a murder charge. Really no different than a person randomly firing a gun into a crowd.
 
I haven't seen the actual charging documents here, just read the reports that she was charged with murder and some manslaughter charges as well. The DA apparently believes that this was not an accident in any way and Linton intentionally rammed into traffic. The hand/phone raised out of the window could support this idea. This would meet the element of Malice necessary for a murder charge. Really no different than a person randomly firing a gun into a crowd.

They finally updated her docket.

Charges & have a date in October.

Count Charge Section Charge Statute Plea Disposition Disposition Date
01 187(A) Penal Code Case Pending Case Pending
02 187(A) Penal Code Case Pending Case Pending
03 187(A) Penal Code Case Pending Case Pending
04 187(A) Penal Code Case Pending Case Pending
05 187(A) Penal Code Case Pending Case Pending
06 187(A) Penal Code Case Pending Case Pending
07 192(C)(1) Penal Code Case Pending Case Pending
08 192(C)(1) Penal Code Case Pending Case Pending
09 192(C)(1) Penal Code Case Pending Case Pending
10 192(C)(1) Penal Code Case Pending Case Pending
11 192(C)(1) Penal Code Case Pending Case Pending

Upcoming Scheduled Events

Date Time Location Dept/Room Number
August 15, 2022 08:30 AM Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center 030 BAIL REVIEW

October 26, 2022 08:30 AM Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center 030 ARRAIGNMENT AND PLEA


link: Criminal Case Summary - Online Services - LA Court


and here are the CA Penal Codes:
California Penal Code [CPC] §187(a) – Murder – Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being or fetus with malice aforethought. Penal Code Section 187 applies to murders that are premeditated or specified in the criminal statutes.

The Crime of Vehicular Manslaughter in California - PC 192(c) California Penal Code Section 192(c) PC defines the crime of vehicular manslaughter as driving a vehicle in a negligent or unlawful manner and thereby causing the death of another human being.
 
They finally updated her docket.

Charges & have a date in October.

Count Charge Section Charge Statute Plea Disposition Disposition Date
01 187(A) Penal Code Case Pending Case Pending
02 187(A) Penal Code Case Pending Case Pending
03 187(A) Penal Code Case Pending Case Pending
04 187(A) Penal Code Case Pending Case Pending
05 187(A) Penal Code Case Pending Case Pending
06 187(A) Penal Code Case Pending Case Pending
07 192(C)(1) Penal Code Case Pending Case Pending
08 192(C)(1) Penal Code Case Pending Case Pending
09 192(C)(1) Penal Code Case Pending Case Pending
10 192(C)(1) Penal Code Case Pending Case Pending
11 192(C)(1) Penal Code Case Pending Case Pending

Upcoming Scheduled Events

Date Time Location Dept/Room Number
August 15, 2022 08:30 AM Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center 030 BAIL REVIEW

October 26, 2022 08:30 AM Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center 030 ARRAIGNMENT AND PLEA


link: Criminal Case Summary - Online Services - LA Court


and here are the CA Penal Codes:
California Penal Code [CPC] §187(a) – Murder – Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being or fetus with malice aforethought. Penal Code Section 187 applies to murders that are premeditated or specified in the criminal statutes.

The Crime of Vehicular Manslaughter in California - PC 192(c) California Penal Code Section 192(c) PC defines the crime of vehicular manslaughter as driving a vehicle in a negligent or unlawful manner and thereby causing the death of another human being.

Thank you- you are awesome!!!!!!
 

Sorry this article is behind a paywall- a few more details in this article- they are trying to figure out if she was supposed to be on some kind of medication and if she was on that medication at the time of the incident and if she was actually on her shift when she had the accident. The hospital is 4 miles from the scene.
 

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