A woman charged with second-degree murder in a March crash on Rock Creek Parkway that killed a Lyft driver and his two passengers had been out drinking with a friend in Bethesda, prosecutors say.
Nakita Marie Walker, 43, then picked up a bottle of Hennessy cognac and headed home to her apartment, prosecutors say.
An officer saw Walker run a red light at 17th Street SW and Constitution Avenue SW where she was pulled over, U.S. Park Police said.
Walker spoke with the officer for several minutes but sped off after the officer smelled alcohol in the car and spotted a bag of marijuana.
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Witnesses told police they saw her speeding on Rock Creek Parkway, cross the yellow line and hit a Honda head on. She was going 100 mph at the time of crash.
The driver of the Honda – 42-year-old Mohamed Kamara – and two passengers – 22-year-old Olvin Torres Velasquez and 23-year-old Jonathan Cabrera Mendez – were killed.
The defense attorney argued in court that Walker fled from police and was speeding because her passenger may have had a gun and was yelling at her.
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The passenger in the car with Walker ran away from the crash scene and was found by officers not far away, police said. He lied about being in the car, saying he was just a witness, until he was identified by the officer who pulled the car over earlier.
Public records revealed the car had 44 unpaid photo-enforced traffic tickets totaling more than $12,300.
Police arrested Walker at her D.C. apartment Monday. She appeared in court Tuesday in a wheelchair, still recovering from injuries from the crash.
Walker has three DUI convictions in D.C. and two DUI convictions in Virginia.
Deputy Mayor for Operations and Infrastructure Lucinda Babers testified to D.C.’s council on Tuesday and said a communication breakdown between the Department of Motor Vehicles and the D.C. Superior Court prevented the suspension of Walker’s license after those convictions.
“We can’t audit what we don’t know,” Babers said. “We’ve never even heard of her, don’t know about her.”
Babers promised a meeting with Superior Court officials to address communication problems.
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