Six murder charges aren't enough for the driver accused of killing five people in a fiery crash near Los Angeles, says the sister of the pregnant woman who died in the accident last week.
The charges are only the “bare minimum," Sha’seana Kerr said.
“My other half is gone,” said Kerr, whose sister, Asherey Ryan, 23, died in the crash Thursday about 10 miles southwest of Los Angeles. Ryan's fetus did not survive, and her baby son and her boyfriend were also killed.
Security video shows a Mercedes Benz E-Class Coupe going through a red light before it plows into multiple vehicles in Windsor Hills.
The California Highway Patrol said the driver was traveling at a “high rate of speed.”
Nicole Linton, 37, of Houston, was charged with six counts of murder and five counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said Monday.
Kerr, 22, of Los Angeles, said in a phone interview Tuesday that there aren’t enough murder charges that can undo the devastation Linton is accused of having caused.
“You can’t justify taking my sister and her whole family. You can never justify that,” Kerr said. “You can’t justify taking away the other lives. You can’t justify going down a whole hill … through a red light.”
Linton’s attorney couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday.
According to online Los Angeles County jail records, Linton remained in custody Tuesday afternoon.
A spokesperson with the highway patrol Tuesday directed additional questions about the case to county prosecutors. No one in the DA's office could be reached Tuesday.
Kerr said her family is mourning her sister; Ryan’s boyfriend, Reynold Lester, 24; Alonzo; 11 months; and the couple’s unborn child, who was going to be named Armani.
“They were all amazing, humble and bright people," Kerr said. "All of them were so deeply caring.”
Kerr said that she and her sister shared an extremely close relationship and that Alonzo was best friends with her own toddler. Ryan was in her second trimester when she died, said Kerr, who said she is pregnant and in her first trimester.
“It’s so hurtful to have to go through this pregnancy all alone,” Kerr said.
She said that she and her sister had overcome many obstacles, including homelessness, and that her family is shattered.
“We went through so much stuff together. … My sister was like my hero,” Kerr said.
Two other women, who weren’t publicly identified, were killed, the district attorney said.
“This is a case that will always be remembered for the senseless loss of so many innocent lives as they simply went about their daily routines,” Gascón said.