The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department in the United States has arrested a 52-year-old fleeing driver, identified as Ray Eugene Padgett, linked to a fatal hit-and-run incident that claimed the life of a Nigerian medical student, Oluwalayomi Fadero.
Fadero, a 23-year-old Nigerian graduate of Fisk University and a current medical student at another university, died in the crash.
According to a report by a local US media outlet, WSMV4, cited by TVC News, the incident occurred on Friday after the suspect, Padgett, was attempting to escape a police chase after allegedly stealing a vehicle and fleeing.
According to police, the driver of the stolen vehicle, Padgett, was out on parole when he stole a Ford F-250 truck from a North Nashville car lot around 9:30 Friday morning.
Police disclosed that the owner of the lot was able to use the technology in the truck to track it to an alley in North Nashville.
The statement further disclosed that Padgett, upon realising he was being followed, reversed and rammed into a vehicle behind him.
That’s when police sent up a helicopter to follow Padgett and tracked him to Murfreesboro Pike.
“The intention at that point is to keep an eye on the truck until it finally stops, have ground units move in, and take the man into custody,” said MNPD Public Information Officer Don Aaron.
The chase ended around 2:30 p.m. when Padgett crossed into oncoming traffic near the intersection of Murfreesboro Pike and Hickory Woods Drive.
Police say he hit an innocent bystander in a white sedan, pushing them about 100 yards into a ditch.
The woman driving that car was pronounced dead at the scene. Police say they believe she was in her 20s.
Police say Padgett has a long criminal history with multiple convictions for theft, burglary and DUI. They believe he was out on parole at the time of the crash.
“We believe that he continues to be on parole and was on parole this morning when he stole the truck and set off the horrible, horrible chain of events that claimed the life of an innocent Nashville woman who was turning into her subdivision to go home,” Aaron said.
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The crash shut down part of Murfreesboro Road for hours Friday afternoon and evening, leaving dozens of people waiting to get access to their homes.
“One officer was trying to kind of like map how I can maybe cross over the creek to get where I needed to go,” a neighbour told WSMV crews on the scene. ”He was very helpful, but ultimately, there’s no way to get over there because they have it blocked. It’s a very severe accident.”
Friends of the deceased have continued to mourn her, describing her as a compassionate and kind person.
A Fisk alumna, Jessica Williams, said, “It’s heartbreaking to know she was near her home and near a place where she lived.”
Williams disclosed that a makeshift memorial was formed for Fadero at the crash site along Murfreesboro Pike, describing her death as a “call to action.”
Williams said, “It is a call to action as we come together for our community to be safer, for the accident to be investigated so that we make sure this never happens again.”
Fadero received a bachelor’s degree from Fisk and was pursuing an accelerated nursing degree at another school. Janet Walsh, Fadero’s former professor, said she made time to volunteer.
Walsh said, “She was one of the most compassionate and kindest people that you would’ve ever met.
“She was such a well-rounded person that you could be a scientist, and you could also be so caring, so loving, so nurturing.”
Walsh noted that Fadero’s volunteer work is a huge part of her legacy.
Walsh added, “These small acts of action, small acts of kindness, small acts of consideration. We really, really make the world a better place.
“I’m so honoured to have spent time with her, to have been in her presence, but also to look at some of these kinds of ways of global citizenship to see what it really, really means.”
An online fundraiser has been set up to assist with funeral arrangements.
