The sister of the pregnant woman who died with her infant son in a fiery Los Angeles crash says her family forgives the ICU nurse accused of causing the crash.
She’seana Kerr told KTLA that in spite of her immense grief over the deaths of Asherey Ryan and 11-month-old nephew Alonzo Quintero, she sympathised with ICU nurse Nicole Linton, who is facing six counts of murder.
Ms Ryan, 23, was six months pregnant and had been on her way to a prenatal checkup with her fiancé Reynold Lester, who also died in the crash.
“I just want to tell her that we forgive her,” Ms Kerr told the LA-based news outlet. “She will have to live with this for the rest of her life. That’s why she was spared. We understand it already.”
Six people died and eight more were injured when a Mercedes-Benz allegedly driven by Ms Linton ran a red light at high speed at an intersection in Windsor Hills, about 10 miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles, last Thursday.
Surveillance cameras captured the car slamming into several vehicles before it erupted in flames.
Ms Linton, 37, is being held in the LA County’s Century Regional Detention Facility on $9m bond, booking records show.
Ms Kerr told KTLA that she had lost her not only lost her big sister but also her best friend.
“Every day we take our sons outside and walk them around the block. Every day. The neighbours know us,” Ms Kerr told the site. “Today, I had to walk alone with my son.”
Vigils were held at the scene of the crash on the intersection of La Brea and Slauson avenues over the weekend, where community leaders called for tougher action on speeding drivers.
A GoFundme page set up to help with funeral costs had raised more than $150,000 by Tuesday morning and, notably, actor and comedian Issa Rae donated $2500 to the fundraiser, TMZ first reported.
Ms Rae, 37, the star of Orange is the New Black, Insecure and The Photograph, grew up nearby in Inglewood.
A prominent social activist and promoter of the south Los Angeles neighbourhood, Ms Rae was handed the keys to Inglewood in February - the first person to receive the honour.
