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A serial repeat offender in Tennessee is accused of stealing a pickup truck and leading police on a chase that ended with him smashing into a car and killing its driver, identified as a 23-year-old woman.
Ray Eugene Padgett, 52, has been charged with criminally negligent homicide and vehicular homicide by recklessness in connection with the death of Oluwalayomi Fadero, 23, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department announced.
Padgett has also been charged with felony reckless endangerment, attempted criminal homicide, and driving on a revoked license.
The 52-year-old, police said, was out on parole and had “at least 20 criminal convictions in five Tennessee counties” before the crash.
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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 allegedly killing a 23-year-old Nashville woman while driving a stolen Ford F-250 pickup truck. (Metropolitan Nashville Police Department)
Padgett, police say, is suspected of stealing the pickup truck from a Nashville car lot on Friday, March 20.
The owner of the lot was able to track the truck to an alley off St. Louis Street in North Nashville, police said. Authorities say that the owner of the lot followed Padgett and spotted the stolen F-250.
Padgett allegedly put the truck in reverse and rammed the vehicle the owner was in before fleeing. Charges related to those occurrences are anticipated, police noted.
Oluwalayomi Fadero, an aspiring nurse, was remembered as a dedicated student. (UTC College of Nursing/Facebook)
Padgett kept driving in the stolen vehicle and, according to WSMV, a second ramming occurred as police began tracking the stolen truck via helicopter.
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“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,” MNPD Public Information Officer Don Aaron told the local outlet.
Police said that the driver spotted an unmarked police car in the median and rammed it before leading authorities on an approximately 5-minute car chase.
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The chase ended around 2:30 p.m. when Padgett crossed into oncoming traffic and Oluwalayomi Fadero’s white Hyundai Elantra, pushing them about 100 yards into a ditch, police said.
Fadero was pronounced dead at the scene.
Oluwalayomi Fadero was weeks away from completing her nursing degree at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga when she was killed. (GoFundMe)
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s College of Nursing remembered Fadero as “a valued member of the August 2026 cohort” who was in the college’s accelerated nursing school.
“She brought light to those around her through her kindness, generosity, beautiful smile, and genuine passion for helping others,” they said.
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A GoFundMe for Fadero says she was turning onto the road where she lived when she was killed.
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“She was simply on her way home, and her dog Nala was with her in the car,” the fundraiser said, adding that “miraculously, Nala survived the crash and was reunited with Oluwalayomi’s loved ones.”
“The loss of Oluwalayomi has left a deep void in the hearts of everyone who knew her,” it said.
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Fadero was set to complete a nursing degree at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in August.