The family of Asherey Ryan is still grappling with accepting her sudden and tragic death. Ryan, 23, along with her 11-month-old son Alonzo, unborn son Armani, and her boyfriend Reynold Lester were among six people killed in Windsor Hills, Calif. on Thursday (Aug. 4).
On Friday (Aug. 5), Ryan’s sister, Sha’seana Kerr, spoke out to share her account of how the accident played out and to inform the public of her family’s next steps. In a video posted online, Kerr recounted her sister leaving home around 1:30 p.m. for a prenatal appointment. She said 15 minutes later she began seeing videos of a devastating accident near the intersection of Slauson and La Brea avenues. “For some reason, as soon as I seen that video it hit home. It hit different. I felt connected, and I felt off,” Kerr explained.
She continued, “You see, he [Lester] was waiting at the red light. When the light turned green he went across as he should. But, at that same time a woman — I don’t even have her name — was driving over 100 miles per hour before she crashed into them, killing my sister and her whole family.” The driver of the speeding vehicle survived the crash. She was identified as Nicole Linton, a 37-year-old registered nurse.
“I already cried. I cried. I didn’t sleep one bit. I’m all cried out, but I’m still shaken. I can’t lie to you. It’s my only big sister,” said an emotional Kerr as she read details of the accident from a sheet of paper. “Immediately his car split in half…Honestly, we’re looking for legal representation because this doesn’t make no sense,” Kerr said. She went on to say that reports have indicated Linton was erratically driving in West Los Angeles, where she allegedly sideswiped cars and nearly struck pedestrians, before colliding with Ryan’s car.
“They already told police it was a drunk driver in a Mercedes. My thing is how did they let her get from West LA to South Central?” she questioned. Linton had reportedly gotten into an argument with her boyfriend prior to getting in her vehicle. Eight others, including six teenagers, suffered various injuries.
“Her taking my sister, my nephews, my brother-in-law; she took my son’s only cousin. We are so deeply hurt,” she said. According to Kerr, the family will be setting up a GoFundMe to cover funeral costs, legal representation and the costs of family therapy.
She closed out the video by saying, “I hope you guys know what really happened,” before refuting claims that her sister had been behind the wheel speeding when the vehicles collided.