Family members and a friend of three fatal crash victims testified during the first day of trial before DC Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt on March 24.
Nakita Walker, 46, is charged with three counts of second-degree-murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, and fleeing a law enforcement officer for her alleged involvement in a March 15, 2023 car crash that fatally injured 43-year-old Mohamed Kamara, 23-year-old Jonathan Alberto Cabrera Mendez, and 22-year-old Olvin Josue Torres Velasquez on Rock Creek Parkway.
Velasquez’s first cousin was called as a witness, emotionally describing him as a “hardworking man” who took care of her and the rest of his family.
“He was not just a cousin, but a brother,” she said.
A close friend of Kamara’s represented him as “hardworking and just persistent,” chronicling how Kamara left Sierra Leone for the US to financially support his young daughter, wife, and nine siblings. The night of the crash, Kamara was driving for a ride share service, while Mendez and Velasquez were passengers.
Menendez’s mother described her son as her “right hand” in taking care of their family. She explained that he and Velasquez were friends whose families lived in the same building.
Walker and members of the jury were visibly emotional during the testimonies from the victims’ families.
In the prosecution’s opening statement, they characterized the crash which “broke [the victims’] bodies” as the consequence of Walker’s alleged intake of alcohol and marijuana, as well as the car’s high rate of speed.
“The death of these three people is the consequence of this choice – these choices,” the prosecution said.
In contrast, Walker’s attorney, Albert Amissah, said the crash was “an accident” that was neither “malicious” nor “intentional.” In his opening statement, Amissah focused on discrediting a key prosecution witness, Walker’s ex-boyfriend and passenger in her vehicle during the crash. Amissah called him “not reliable, not credible, and not trustworthy,” alleged that he had a firearm on him, and questioned why he ran from the scene of the crash.
“Why leave if you’re innocent,” Amissah said.
The prosecution called a US Park Police officer, who said he stopped Walker’s black Lexus around a minute before the crash for driving “faster than highway speed” and not stopping at a red light. The officer testified that he observed what appeared to be alcohol in the vehicle when conducting the traffic stop. Amissah asserted the alcohol was solely being consumed by the other passenger. The officer also retrieved marijuana from the passenger.
The Park Police officer testified that Walker told him she had been speeding to get home to her 10-year-old son who was home alone. However, as he asked for both Walker and the passenger’s IDs for the second time, Walker drove off. The officer testified that due to policy, he was not able to chase after the vehicle.
The Park Police officer said that between 47-seconds-to-one-minute after, he received a call for a crash and responded to the scene, identifying Walker as the driver.
On cross-examination, Amissah questioned the officer about his process in locating the other passenger and asked why he fled the scene. The officer explained that he issued a lookout for the passenger at the crash scene and after the individual was located by another officer, he identified him. The passenger, Walker’s ex-boyfriend, was detained but never placed under arrest.
Amissah also asked the officer whether there was a Modelo beer bottle found in the vehicle the victims were in, which the officer confirmed.
Another witness who works for the US Park Police was designated as an expert in crash reconstruction. The expert used model cars to recreate what he believed to be the direction of the crash. He based his analysis on pavement marks on the scene and debris on the Lexus’ tires.
While Amissah asked the expert if gouges in the pavement could be caused by the driver breaking, the expert ultimately said this was “very unlikely.”
The prosecution also called a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer who responded to the crash scene. The prosecution showed the jury his body-worn camera footage that showed him assessing the Honda that the victims were in. In the video, the officer noted that the victims appeared to have already succumbed to their injuries.
Parties are slated to reconvene on March 25.
