Traveling Nurse in Deadly Car Crash Suffered from Psychotic Episodes

Nicole Linton, the traveling nurse accused of causing a fiery car crash in the Los Angeles area last year that killed five people, suffered from major psychotic episodes in the years before the crash

We reported previously that Linton, 37, of Houston has been charged with six counts of murder and five counts of vehicular manslaughter. She reportedly barreled through an intersection at 130 miles per hour on Aug. 4., killing five people and an unborn baby.

Killed in the crash were Asherey Ryan, 23, who was pregnant, a baby boy, and Ryan’s boyfriend. Two other women in another vehicle also were killed.

Linton, who’s been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, had been experiencing a “frightening” mental health crisis in the days before the crash, and even on the day of the incident, according to court records filed by her attorneys, Revolt reports.

Her family launched a website to share Linton’s struggles with mental illness. As Law&Crime reports, citing documents written by neurologist Dr. David Millett, her psychotic episodes included “diving through a window and jumping on top of a patrol car after running across several lanes of traffic,” the outlet writes. 

Dr. Millett also details an occurrence that Linton’s boyfriend recounted. The disturbing incident went down on May 20, 2019, while they were alone in Linton’s apartment. According to the ex-boyfriend, Linton began “talking to herself and to other people who were not there… acting paranoid and seeing things and people that were not there… when suddenly she ‘jumped up, sprinted to the window and dove right thru [sic] the glass.’”

After landing in the bushes, she removed her clothes, according to Millett’s document, Law& Crime reports. She then walked around the apartment complex visibly injured and “confused, unresponsive, and unaware of what was going on.”

Linton has pleaded not guilty to six counts of murder and five counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. Her family thinks she was unfairly charged.

Liton’s attorney suggested she may have had a seizure behind the wheel when she crash but prosecutors disagree.

Her family launched a website to share Linton’s struggles with mental illness. As Law&Crime reports, citing documents written by neurologist Dr. David Millett, her psychotic episodes included “diving through a window and jumping on top of a patrol car after running across several lanes of traffic,” the outlet writes. 

Dr. Millett also details an occurrence that Linton’s boyfriend recounted. The disturbing incident went down on May 20, 2019, while they were alone in Linton’s apartment. According to the ex-boyfriend, Linton began “talking to herself and to other people who were not there… acting paranoid and seeing things and people that were not there… when suddenly she ‘jumped up, sprinted to the window and dove right thru [sic] the glass.’”

After landing in the bushes, she removed her clothes, according to Millett’s document, Law& Crime reports. She then walked around the apartment complex visibly injured and “confused, unresponsive, and unaware of what was going on.”

Linton has pleaded not guilty to six counts of murder and five counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. Her family thinks she was unfairly charged.

Liton’s attorney suggested she may have had a seizure behind the wheel when she crash but prosecutors disagree“ The suggestion that she’s suffering a lack of consciousness, such as a seizure, while also maintaining control of a car moving 130 mph … defies logic,” Deputy District Attorney Antonella Nitorescu said during a hearing on the issue, the Los Angeles Times reported via Law&Crime