A D.C. woman accused of driving drunk and causing a deadly crash on Rock Creek Parkway in March will remain in jail for now.
This comes after an arraignment hearing Monday at D.C. Superior Court for Nakita Marie Walker, 43, on charges of three counts of second-degree murder for the March 15 crash.
Walker is first accused of fleeing U.S. Park Police after a traffic stop; but according to court documents, police did not pursue the Lexus SUV that Walker was driving.
Investigators said that Walker reached speeds as high as 100 mph, according to vehicle data, before crossing double lines and crashing into a Honda Accord.
Mohamed Kamara, 42, of Burtonsville, Maryland, was driving the Honda for Lyft at the time, with passengers Jonathan Cabrera Mendez, 23, and Olvin Torres Velasquez, 22, both of Arlington, Virginia. All three died during the crash.
In court on Tuesday, Walker’s attorney claimed a man in the car, with whom Walker had gone to the movies, had two guns in his possession and that she fled the traffic stop because he told her to, fearing retaliation or violence from him.
Walker also told police that she does not remember the crash, but she did recall the man in the car with her, pushing her leg down because he felt she was not driving fast enough. Walker even raised questions about whether she was driving the vehicle at the time of the crash, claiming her doctor said it is possible she was injured as a passenger.
Both Walker and the male passenger were transported to a hospital for their injuries. Walker suffered a broken femur, sternum and wrist in the crash.
The prosecutor sought to keep Walker in jail because she had a total of five prior DUI arrests, three in D.C. and two in Virginia. Walker also had a past felony assault charge.
Her blood and urine tests on the evening of the crash showed her blood alcohol level was above the legal limit, court documents said.
The car that Walker was driving had 44 unpaid speed camera tickets at the time of the crash, totaling $12,300, according to the D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles. Of the unpaid tickets, 28 were listed for speeding, and one for running a red light. She said the tickets were incurred by both her and her estranged husband, who owned the car.
The judge denied home confinement for Walker, pointing out her past DUIs and how the crash violated her probation.
“You have shown you do not follow court orders,” Judge Judith Pipe said before ordering Walker to remain held behind bars.
Walker will be back in court on June 6.
