Inset top: Olvin Josue Torres Velasquez (Obituary). Inset bottom: Jonathan Alberto Mendez (Obituary). Background: The aftermath of the crash on Rock Creek Parkway in Washington, D.C., on March 15, 2023 (WUSA/YouTube).
A woman in Washington, D.C., has learned her fate for speeding off from a traffic stop and ramming into another vehicle, killing a Lyft driver and his two passengers.
Nakita Walker, 45, was sentenced this week to 29 years in prison, the U.S. Attorney”s Office for the District of Columbia announced.
In April, Walker was found guilty of three counts of involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of 42-year-old Mohamed Kamara, 23-year-old Jonathan Alberto Cabrera Mendez, and 22-year-old Olvin Josue Torres Velasquez, as well as fleeing a law enforcement officer and assault with a dangerous weapon.
On March 14, 2023, Walker went to a movie “and hung out with friends,” the government said the evidence proved. As the clock ticked past midnight, she decided to drive home.
Walker was speeding and ran a red light in front of a police officer, and he pulled her over.
“She initially complied with the stop,” the attorney’s office noted, but midway through, she “took off” and was racing as fast as 100 mph on Rock Creek Parkway in Washington, D.C.
As she sped away, Walker crossed the double-yellow line and smashed into another vehicle. The other vehicle was being driven by Kamara, and he was operating it as a Lyft driver to send money home to his family in Sierra Leone, local NBC affiliate WRC reported.
Mendez and Velasquez were heading home to Arlington, Virginia, after a night out.
Walker reportedly had a blood-alcohol content of 0.1, just over the legal limit, as well as cannabis in her system.
As she was placed into an ambulance to be checked out, she apparently was excited and laughing, a paramedic later testified, according to area CBS affiliate WUSA. Her attorney said this could have been a result of her broken bones and head injuries.
“Three lives were lost because of Nakita Walker’s reckless and violent choices,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said. “Their families now carry a grief that can never fully heal. Today’s sentence reflects the profound harm caused and reinforces that fleeing law enforcement and endangering others has devastating consequences.”
Walker apparently sobbed in court as she was sentenced.
“Today I take accountability for what happened,” she said, according to WRC. “I pray for forgiveness because their lives mattered, too. I don’t have any excuses. I didn’t know the victims personally, but I walk with them every day. It was never my intent nor would I ever want to cause harm to you or your loved ones.”
