A pregnant woman who died along with her young son and three others in a fiery crash caused by a speeding car was on her way to a prenatal appointment, her sister said Friday. Thursday’s crash killed Asherey Ryan, her 11-month-old son Alonzo Quintero and her boyfriend, Reynold Lester, Sha’seana Kerr said in a GoFundMe post. “Everybody’s heartbroken,” Kerr told KABC-TV. “He literally walked out the door, because we all live together, and he said, ‘OK, I love you all. I’m going to my doctor’s appointment to check the baby.’ We asked, “Oh, why don’t you leave our nephew here?” He said, “No, I want to take my son for a walk.” So knowing that really broke our hearts.” Lester’s family told KABC-TV that the 24-year-old security guard was the father of the unborn child, who was listed as “baby boy Ryan” in online coroner’s records. Two other women and a man were also killed, but their names were not released Friday. Shortly after 1:30 p.m. Thursday, a Mercedes-Benz sedan ran a red light at high speed and caused a six-car crash near a gas station in unincorporated Windsor Hills about 10 miles (16 kilometers) southwest of downtown Los Angeles. , according to the California Highway Patrol. The California Highway Patrol said Nicole Lorraine Linton, who suffered moderate injuries in the crash, was taken into custody on suspicion of negligent homicide. Prosecutors said they could take over the case as early as next Monday and then decide whether to pursue criminal charges. It was not immediately clear whether Lindon, 37, had an attorney available to comment on her behalf. The Mercedes-Benz sedan never appeared to brake as it flew through the intersection, and Pepi said detectives are looking into whether Lindon had a medical episode or was driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. “It was definitely one of the most horrific accidents we’ve seen,” CHP Officer Franco Pepi told The Associated Press on Friday. Several people were thrown from the cars and two vehicles caught fire. Television reports showed the blackened and mangled cars, as well as a child’s car seat among the debris covering the road. The video shows the Mercedes spinning through an intersection, hitting at least two cars that burst into flames and launched onto a sidewalk, ending up at the gas station’s corner sign. A fiery streak led to a car. A vehicle was torn in half. The car was doing at least 80 km/h as it raced through the busy intersection, Pepi said Thursday. Eight people were taken to the hospital, including Lyndon. The other victims had minor injuries and included a 33-year-old woman and six children between the ages of 1 and 15, Pepi said. A memorial was raised outside the intersection on Friday as mourners left flowers and candles in memory of the dead. Henry Sanchez, who works at nearby Sinclair Gas, was inside the register when he heard “the loudest noise I’ve ever heard”. “The sound of it, it was tragic,” he told the AP on Friday. “It was like two trains hitting each other, metal to metal.” He saw people running to the cars to offer help, but they were held back by the flames until firefighters arrived. “I remember everyone trying to put out the fire and help people as much as they could, but nobody could do anything,” he said. Veronica Esquival told KTLA-TV that she covered her head for protection as debris flew. “All of a sudden, a baby literally flew out of the middle of the intersection into the middle of the gas station and landed right on the floor in front of me,” Esquival said. “One of the workers came and saw me with the baby and took the baby out of my hands. … Someone tried to revive the baby but the baby was gone.’ Debra Jackson told KCBS-TV she was about to get out of her car to get gas when she heard a loud explosion. “The flames just went through everybody,” Jackson said. “The flames were all over my car and they told me to jump out of my car… because I was trying to get out of my car, go to the gas pump. And I jumped out of my car and just left my car sitting right there.” —- Associated Press photojournalist Damian Dovarganes in Los Angeles and news reporter Jennifer Farrar in New York contributed to this report.
