Wednesday, March 25, 2026 - A parolee with a long criminal history is facing multiple homicide-related charges after a wrong-way crash k!lled a 23-year-old Nigerian woman, Oluwalayomi Fadero, in Nashville, Tennessee, United States.
Fadero recently completed her degree and was pursuing an
accelerated nursing programme at another institution before her d3ath.
Investigators said the series of events began around 9:30
a.m. Friday, March 20, 2026 when 52-year-old Ray Eugene Padgett allegedly
stole a Ford truck from an auto lot in North Nashville.
The owner told police the vehicle was equipped with a
tracking device and they began following it.
Around 12:10 p.m., authorities said the lot’s owner tracked
the truck to an alley off St. Louis Street.
Padgett reportedly put the truck in reverse and rammed the
vehicle the owner was in before fleeing the area.
Using that information, officers began monitoring Padgett in
Madison with undercover vehicles.
However, the MNPD said the situation quickly escalated when
Padgett rammed into an unmarked police SUV with a plainclothes detective inside
at the connector road between Murfreesboro Pike and Old Murfreesboro Pike, near
Nashville International Airport.
That officer was forced to get out and run, described by law
enforcement as being in clear and immediate danger, so a pursuit began.
About five minutes later, Padgett allegedly drove the wrong
way on Murfreesboro Pike at speeds approaching 80 mph, heading toward La
Vergne.
That is when, officials said, he crashed into the driver’s
side of a Hyundai Elantra sedan as the Nigerian woman was turning from
Murfreesboro Pike onto Hickory Woods Drive on her way home from work. She was
k!lled.
"We know Ray Eugene Padgett has some 20 convictions,”
Metro Nashville Police Department spokesperson Don Aaron said during a press
conference on Friday.
"We believe 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.
Investigators said Padgett has at least 20 prior convictions
across five Tennessee counties, including Davidson, Putnam, Sumner, Fentress,
and Wilson counties. Those convictions include burglaries, auto-related crimes,
and multiple theft offenses.
Police said Padgett was last arrested in Nashville in 2023
for a parole violation and had since been released.
On Friday night, authorities reported Padgett was in the
hospital and would be booked into jail upon his release.
Then, on Saturday, March 21, the MNPD announced Padgett — who sustained minor injuries in the crash — had been discharged that afternoon and was immediately taken into custody.
According to officials, Padgett is being held in the
Downtown Detention Center on an $805,000 bond for criminally negligent
homicide, vehicular homicide by recklessness, felony reckless endangerment,
attempted criminal homicide, and driving on a revoked license.
However, charges related to the theft from the car lot and
the crash involving the lot owner are anticipated.
Meanwhile, in a statement to News 2, Fisk University
identified the victim of the crash as an alum.
“The Fisk University community is heartbroken to learn of
the tragic passing of Oluwalayomi Fadero, a recent graduate of the university,”
the statement read.
“Our hearts and prayers are with the Fadero family during
this incredibly difficult time. Counseling resources are available to our
campus community through the Office of Student Affairs.”
"She was one of the most compassionate and kindest of
people that you would’ve ever met,” her former professor, Janet Walsh, said.
A makeshift memorial has since been created at the crash
site, while counselling support has been made available to students and members
of the university community.
Meanwhile, a fundraiser organised by supporters has raised
over $13,000 to assist with funeral expenses, as family and friends continue to
mourn her sudden d3ath.
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