Woman charged with murder after crashing into Lyft had 3 previous DUI charges

WASHINGTON — A woman facing murder charges after crashing into a Lyft along Rock Creek Parkway in March was previously charged with driving under the influence on multiple occasions, according to court documents.

The crash happened along Rock Creek Parkway on March 15. The driver, identified as 43-year-old Nakita Marie Walker, was charged with second-degree murder Monday.

DC Court documents are giving more insight into what happened in the moments leading up to the crash and afterward. 

Movies & Drinks Before Deadly Crash

According to an affidavit, Walker and an unnamed man went to a dine-in movie theater in Bethesda, Maryland to see Scream 6. While at the theater, the pair each drank alcoholic beverages. After leaving the theater, the two reportedly went to a liquor store where the man bought a bottle of Hennessy liquor. 

Walker then began driving the man to her home in Northwest D.C. The man later told US Park Police that he was drinking during the drive but that Walker was not. 

Traffic Stop

At 1:32 a.m., US Park Police Officer Mugavero noticed Walker's black Lexus SUV was speeding in the area before driving through a red light at Independence Avenue and 17th Street Southwest. Mugavero pulled Walker over along Rock Creek Parkway, south of F Street Northwest. 

Mugavero approached the SUV on the passenger side and claimed to have noticed the man was holding a red solo cup with a dark brown liquid. Additionally, the officer said they smelled alcohol coming from the vehicle. When Mugavero told Walker and the man that they could not drink alcohol in the vehicle, Walker reportedly said only the passenger was drinking. 

Mugavero asked the pair for their identifications and when the man reached for his ID, the officer noticed what appeared to be packaged marijuana. Mugavero says he told the man that marijuana is illegal on federal property before Walker put the car in drive and sped away from the officer. 

Mugavero did not pursue Walker and instead began driving toward Sibley Memorial Hospital for an unrelated incident. US Park Police later explained that Mugavero did not follow Walker because the stop did not meet the criteria for a pursuit.

The Crash

At 1:36 a.m., just four minutes after the officer pulled Walker over, the DC Office of Unified Communications got a call that the Lexus had crashed. 

Five minutes after the crash was reported, Mugavero was dispatched to the crash and noticed a woman laying on the pavement next to the driver's side of the Lexus. Mugavero recognized the woman as Walker, having stopped her just one mile down the road minutes earlier. 

According to court documents, the man who was also in the car walked away after the crash. When he was stopped by officers, he claimed he wasn't involved in the crash but had tried to help people out of the car. 

Officers claim the man smelled strongly of alcohol and he was positively identified as the passenger by Mugavero a short time later. 

The man was evaluated by EMTs and interviewed by police. He claimed after Walker sped away, the other car came into their lane like they were in the middle of the street. He said he was in shock after the crash and walked away to avoid being hit by a call while calling people. 

Crash reconstruction officers later said Walker's Lexus crossed the double yellow line and hit a Honda Accord head-on. According to the Lexus Event Data Recorder, the car was traveling 100 mph just seconds before the crash and hit the Honda head-on at more than 70 mph. 

Mohamed Kamara, 42, was behind the wheel of the Honda, working as a Lyft driver when the crash happened. He had just picked up Jonathan Cabrera Mendez, 23, and Olvin Torres Velasquez, 22. All three were killed in the crash.

Witnesses Call 911

Several people witnessed the crash and called 911. Court documents say one person claiming to live nearby heard a loud boom and then someone shouting. When they looked outside, the caller claimed to see a large man walking up the ramp from Rock Creek Parkway to P Street at a "casual pace."

Another caller, only identified as "Witness 2," called 911 and said their husband had been driving them home from work on Rock Creek Parkway when the crash occurred. 

"Witness 2 described being two seconds behind the collision when a vehicle sped around the curb, going the wrong way, and collided with another vehicle head on causing the wheel to pop off," the affidavit reads. 

Two more witnesses reached out to US Park Police after seeing reports of the crash on the news. They claimed they were about six car lengths behind another vehicle in the left lane when another car came speeding in the opposite direction. They said the car crossed the line and hit the car in front of them head-on. The pair said they were forced to swerve to avoid the collision and saw debris and a tire in the air. 

A fourth witness, who was passing by in a rideshare, said they did not see the crash but did see a man dragging a girl out of the car and that she was lying in the street. This detail was confirmed by two other witnesses who called 911.

When the witness asked the man if he had called for help, the man reportedly said that he did not know where his phone was.

Nearly two weeks after the crash, another witness left an anonymous tip saying Walker ran that night because the man inside her car had two loaded firearms. Police searched the Lexus and did not find any firearms. 

Hospital Interview

Both Walker and the man were taken to Howard University Hospital for help with their injuries. Court documents refer to the man only as "Subject 1." 

When investigators spoke with the passenger, he told police he has known Walker for 11 years and that they are in an intimate relationship. Officers learned the pair had been together all day. He claimed the two had a few drinks while watching Scream 6 before visiting a liquor store to purchase a bottle of Hennessy.

The man told police Walker was not drinking inside the car because he made sure she was already "lit" and that she gets "tipsy" really fast. 

The man explained the pair were on the way to Walker's home when they were pulled over. He claims Walker was not going to pull over until he convinced her and that he told her to slow down after she sped away from the traffic stop. 

"[The man] said the other car was in their lane in front of them and boom," the affidavit reads. 

After the crash, the man said he got out of the car and went to the driver's side the help Walker. He explained another person stopped to help pull Walker out from the driver's side. He then walked away to make a phone call while screaming for help when he was stopped by police. 

During the interview, officers say the man asked if he seems intoxicated to them. When officers said he seemed alright, the man complained about Walker, saying she refused to let him drive despite her having been drinking too much. 

When investigators attempted to speak with Walker, she appeared to keep dozing off due to the sedatives hospital staff had given her. 

"Regarding the crash, she said she was not drinking and driving but rather got into the car to move it for the person who was driving," the affidavit reads. "She also stated her friend was driving and he left." 

Subject 1 Changes His Story

When the man was later interviewed by detectives and an Assistant United States Attorney, he said he and Walker were only acquaintances and were not in a romantic relationship, despite his earlier accounts. 

Details around the man's story began changing, from what movie theater they were at earlier in the evening to what the pair did afterward. Originally, the man said the pair went to a liquor store and gas station after seeing Scream 6 in Bethesda, the affidavit says.

In the second interview, the man claimed Walker dropped him off in Southeast and later returned with a group of female friends. He said he later fell asleep and had no memory of the traffic stop or the crash on Rock Creek Parkway.

Investigators told the man his account was not credible and advised him to obtain an attorney. 

A History of DUIs & $12K in Speeding Tickets

Hospital staff tested Walker's blood following the crash and found she had a blood alcohol content of .10, which is .02 over the legal limit, according to court documents.

This is not the first instance of driving under the influence for Walker. In D.C., Walker has been convicted of driving under the influence three times, once in 2015, once in 2018 and a third time in 2020. A prosecutor in court Tuesday also pointed to other DUI charges filed in Virginia.

In addition to Walker's previous DUI convictions, the Lexus she was driving had several outstanding traffic citations at the time of the crash totaling more than $12,000. The Lexus had 39 unpaid traffic violations, 38 of which were for speeding, DMV records show.

All of the traffic violations were issued in less than a year, according to court documents. 

First Day In Court

Walker appeared before a judge Tuesday in a wheelchair to face the second-degree murder charges. 

Her defense attorney called the crash a tragedy but said prosecutors are not taking into account what was happening inside the car at the time of the crash. She claims Walker was under duress with the man in the car screaming at her and pointed to the anonymous tip about the two guns the man may have had. 

Walker's attorney questioned why prosecutors waited two months to file what she called "aggressive" charges. She also said while Walker was driving over the legal limit, it was not so much over that it warranted a second-degree murder charge.

Prosecutors said despite what was happening inside the vehicle, there is no question about who was behind the wheel. Additionally, he pointed to the fact that Walker was driving with an open container in the vehicle. 

The judge agreed with the prosecution, saying court documents show while Walker was going 70 mph when she hit the Honda head-on, the other car was only traveling around 35 mph. 

Walker's attorney asked the judge to allow her client to be released, saying Walker cannot drive with multiple broken bones requiring medical assistance and that she has an 11-year-old who needs her home. 

"The court can put an ankle monitor on her non-shattered ankle," the defense attorney said. She told the judge her client has faced previous DUI charges but has complied with the conditions set by the courts so well that officials lessened her conditions of supervision. 

Prosecutors disagreed and asked the judge to hold Walker until her next court date, pointing to her previous convictions and unpaid speeding tickets. 

The judge said she understands the medical concerns with Walker's injuries but her decision has the be based on community safety and that Walker is charged with the death of three people while on release for two other DUI cases. 

While Walker may have complied with some conditions from her previous convictions, the judge said she did not comply with the biggest which is to not drive a car under the influence.

"She made the decision to disregard court orders and drive under the influence," the judge said. 

Ultimately, the judge said she could not guarantee that Walker would comply with court orders and sided with prosecutors, ordering Walker be held until her next court date. 

After issuing the order, Walker spoke with her lawyer who then asked if home confinement would be an acceptable alternative. The judge refused, saying she has no faith Walker will comply with confinement. The judge then spoke directly to Walker, saying she understood Walker's unhappiness with the decision and she will have the chance for the next judge to give her the answer she wants but her first priority is to keep the community safe. 

Walker's next court date is scheduled for June 6.