A D.C. woman involved in a 2023 crash on Rock Creek Parkway that spurred the creation of a city law governing reckless driving was found guilty on Monday for causing the accident that killed three people.
Nakita Marie Walker, 46, faces a maximum sentence of 29½ years for three counts of involuntary manslaughter, as well as one count each of assault with a dangerous weapon and fleeing a law enforcement officer.
A D.C. Superior Court jury, however, found Walker not guilty of second-degree murder in the collision that left a Lyft driver and his two passengers dead. She was also found not guilty of negligent homicide.
In the early hours of March 15, 2023, a U.S. Park Police officer saw a black Lexus driven by Walker traveling at a high speed and failing to stop at a red light as it continued through the intersection of Independence Avenue at 17th Street in Southwest Washington, according to court documents. When the officer stopped the vehicle, he saw that Walker’s passenger — who told police he was her boyfriend — held a red Solo cup containing a dark brown liquid that was later revealed to be cognac. The officer also saw the top of packaging consistent with dispensary packaged marijuana, he said in a criminal complaint.
After the officer informed the passenger that marijuana is illegal on federal property and moved to grab it, Walker drove off, fleeing the scene. She headed northbound in the direction of Rock Creek Parkway, crossed a double-yellow lane marker and crashed into a car that Lyft driver Mohamed Kamara, 42, was driving, with Jonathan Cabrera Mendez, 23, and Olvin Torres Velasquez, 22, in the back seat, the complaint says.
Police saidthat Walker had a blood alcohol level of 0.10, above the legal limit of 0.08. She was arrested on May 22, 2023, and has been in custody since.
The Lexus that Walker was driving was registered to her estranged husband, who told police that he never drove the vehicle, according to the criminal complaint.
The vehicle had several outstandingtraffic citations with fines in excess of $12,000, most of which were unpaid, court records show. The majority of tickets were for speeding violations. In addition, Walker had a historyof driving under the influence violations dating back a decade.
In 2010, she was charged with driving without a license. That case was dropped. Five years later, Walker was charged with driving under the influence. She was convicted after a trial in 2016 and given 15 days confinement and a year of probation.
In 2018, a man brought a civil suit against her in regards to a crash two years earlier. That case was settled.
Later in 2018, a police officer found Walker asleep at the wheel at a traffic light on Sumner Road in Southeast Washington, court documents alleged. She was charged with DUI and ultimately pleaded guilty, and was given 15 days confinement and three years of probation. She was also ordered to complete drug and alcohol treatment and testing, and ordered to use an ignition interlock device when she drove.
In an interview with investigators, Walker said that she drank alcohol and smoked marijuana on the night of the crash, but blamed the man in the passenger seat for making her drive and pushing her leg to drive away from police.
During a hearing in D.C. Superior Court in 2023, a defense attorney confirmed that Walker had a valid license at the time of the crash, though D.C. law suggested that her convictions should have resulted in Walker’s license being revoked.
The crash promptedlegislation that aimed to resolve failures in the city’s enforcement processes, targeting drivers with extensive records of dangerous behavior on the road. The legislation, introducedby D.C. Council member Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) and known as the Strengthening Traffic Enforcement, Education, and Responsibility (Steer) Act, was approved unanimously in 2024 and created a point system to track and penalize drivers who frequently commit traffic violations.
Allen, who also chairs the council’s Transportation and Environment Committee, said in an emailed statement Tuesday that, based on Walker’s record, she should never have been behind the wheel and her license should have been revoked. Allen also said that the Steer Act addresses these revocation failures and holds drivers accountable.
“This guilty verdict, while meaningful, won’t undo the losses experienced by the victims’ families and friends,” Allen said. “It must be our priority to get dangerous drivers to change their behavior or get them off the road before someone else is injured or killed. Doing so will not only save lives but improve everyone’s quality of life.”
The city law also expands the definition of reckless driving to traveling 20 or more mph above the speed limit or “in a manner that displays a conscious disregard for the risk of bodily injury or property damage,” and of aggravated reckless driving to traveling 30 or more mph over the speed limit. The act allows the D.C. attorney general to suedrivers over unpaid traffic tickets.
D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a statementMonday that “justice has been served, and our thoughts remain with the victims and their loved ones.”
“We continue to rid this city of those who commit homicide. Their place is behind bars,” Pirro said. “Three lives were lost — a hardworking Lyft driver and two passengers who trusted they would arrive safely. Their families have endured unimaginable loss, and while nothing can undo that pain, this outcome affirms that reckless and violent actions have consequences.”
Relatives of Kamara did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. The families of the two passengers could not be reached.
Walker is set to be sentenced June 5.
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