Loved ones gathered once again Saturday night at the site of the horrific crash in Windsor Hills that claimed six lives. They joined in prayer and solace – finding comfort among each other in their search for strength.
“She was my first best friend. She the first person I knew. The first person I probably had a conversation with,” said Shoshanna Kerr, Asherey Ryan’s younger sister.
Ryan, 23, who was six months pregnant, her 11-month-old son Alonzo, and her fiancé, Reynold Lester, were on their way to a prenatal checkup when the driver of a speeding Mercedes slammed into crossing traffic at the intersection of La Brea and Slauson avenues in Windsor Hills Thursday afternoon.
Everyone in Ryan’s vehicle died, including her unborn son.
“She’s my only big sister. Every day we take our sons outside and walk them around the block. Cada dia. The neighbors know us,” Kerr told KTLA. “Today, I had to walk alone with my son.”
Lloyd Manning, Asherey Ryan’s stepfather, shared his last memory of his grandson.
“I walked out to go to work. Alonzo would do his little ‘ooh! ooh!’ thing he always does,” Manning recalled. “I reached out and wanted a hug, and he gave me a hug and gave me a kiss. That was the last thing I got to see.”
Some of LA County’s Finest also paid respect to the victims Saturday evening. Firefighters from Engine Co. 58, who were among the first to respond to the crash, visited the makeshift memorial and met with grieving family members.
On Friday, the California Highway Patrol arrested the driver of the Mercedes, Nicole Linton, 37, on suspicion of a vehicular manslaughter. Authorities say she is a traveling nurse from Texas who is working in Los Angeles.
Formal charges could be filed as early as Monday.
Despite the immeasurable loss, family and friends are offering hope and healing to each other, and even the driver who has devastated their lives.
“I just want to tell her that we forgive her,” Shoshanna Kerr said. “She will have to live with this for the rest of her life. That’s why she was spared. We understand it already.”