Parolee Ray Eugene Padgett, 52, is now jailed in lieu of $805,000 bond on multiple felony counts, including criminally negligent homicide and vehicular homicide by recklessness, for killing an innocent 23-year-old Nashville woman while driving a stolen Ford F-250 pickup truck the wrong way (outbound in the inbound lanes) on Murfreesboro Pike Friday afternoon.
The victim has been identified as Oluwalayomi Fadero, whose Hyundai Elantra sedan was violently struck on the driver’s side by the pickup truck as Fadero attempted to turn from Murfreesboro Pike onto Hickory Woods Drive.
Detectives have also charged Padgett with attempted criminal homicide for ramming an unmarked police SUV with a plainclothes detective inside at the connector road between Murfreesboro Pike and Old Murfreesboro Pike. That occurred five minutes before the fatal collision with Fadero’s vehicle.
Padgett, who has at least 20 criminal convictions in five Tennessee counties, is suspected of stealing the pickup truck from a Nashville car lot on Friday morning. The owner of the lot was able to track the truck to an alley off St. Louis Street in North Nashville. He drove there and spotted the F-250. Padgett is alleged to have put the truck in reverse and rammed the vehicle the owner was in before fleeing the St. Louis Street area. Charges related to those occurrences are anticipated.
The five current counts for which Padgett is jailed are criminally negligent homicide, vehicular homicide by recklessness, felony reckless endangerment, attempted criminal homicide, and driving on a revoked license.
Padgett, who received minor injuries in the crash, was discharged from the hospital this afternoon and immediately placed into police custody.
