POPULAR JAIL NURSE SLAIN ON HIGHWAY.

Byline: Lisa Van Proyen Daily News Staff Writer

A Los Angeles police jail nurse praised for her work with inmates in the San Fernando Valley was shot to death as she drove home from work in Van Nuys to Hemet on Highway 60 early Monday, Riverside County sheriff's investigators said.

Rosie Jane Almeyda, 35, was found dead in her car, just east of Interstate 15 in an unincorporated area of western Riverside County.

The bullet was fired through the passenger side window of her Geo Prizm and hit Almeyda in the head, a Sheriff's Department statement said.

The shooting was believed to have happened at 2:45 a.m., about 15 minutes before a passer-by reported the incident as a single-vehicle collision.

Almeyda, a mother of two children, ages 10 and 13, was a supervising correctional care nurse at the Los Angeles Police Department's Van Nuys jail.

Shocked and grieving co-workers Monday night praised her work with patients and other nurses.

``She always had a laugh for everybody. She was very bright. It will be a terrible loss for us,'' said Sally Taylor, lead nurse at the Van Nuys jail dispensary. ``She was just the best.''

Other nurses described Almeyda, who commuted about two hours each way to her swing-shift work, as a devoted hard worker who treated inmates as she wished to be treated.

``She went out of her way for people in the jail. She treated everyone the same, no matter what color their skin was,'' another nurse said.

Almeyda had worked at the Van Nuys location for more than two years and previously worked for Riverside County's jails, according to her husband of 15 years, Peter, who added that she preferred the jail environment over hospitals.

``She enjoyed the correctional work. She didn't like being in the hospital or to visit the doctor,'' he said. ``A lot of times, she knew it was hard (for inmates). She treated them like she wanted to be treated.''

Before her work in Riverside, the licensed vocational nurse worked at the Parker Center jail dispensary downtown, where she also was praised Monday.

Investigators believe other cars were in the vicinity at the time of the shooting and were seeking information from anyone who may have seen anything.

Last month, Leroy Guerrero, 21, of Victorville was shot to death while riding in a car on Interstate 15 near Lake Elsinore. Authorities said Monday that they have no reason to believe that the shootings were related.