A convicted felon out on parole is back behind bars after he allegedly stole a truck and led police through the streets of Nashville in a high-speed chase that ended in tragedy when he killed a woman.
Ray Eugene Padgett, 52, is facing multiple felony charges – including criminally negligent homicide and vehicular homicide by recklessness – in the death of 23-year-old Oluwalayomi Fadero, according to the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.
Metro Nashville Police Department spokesperson Don Aaron said investigators believe the parolee, who has a long criminal history, slammed into Fadero’s Hyundai Elantra sedan just moments before she reached her house.
The “horrible chain of events” began around 9:30 a.m. on March 20, when Padgett is accused of stealing a Ford F-250 from a car lot in North Nashville, Aaron said.
The owner of the truck, using a tracking device, was able to locate his vehicle and followed it to an alley off St. Louis Street, where Padgett allegedly reversed and rammed the owner’s car before fleeing. Charges related to that crash are expected, police said.
Police then launched a helicopter and said Padgett was located on Murfreesboro Pike a short time later.
“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,” Aaron explained at a press conference on Friday.
Padgett then allegedly rammed an unmarked police SUV with a plainclothes detective inside near the connector road between Murfreesboro Pike and Old Murfreesboro Pike, according to police. The detective was forced to flee on foot. Within minutes, Padgett is accused of speeding the wrong way down Murfreesboro Pike at nearly 80 mph, according to reporting from WSMV.
Fadero was turning off Murfreesboro Pike onto Hickory Woods Drive when police say Padgett’s truck “violently struck” her car on the driver’s side. The impact reportedly sent both vehicles roughly 100 yards into a ditch.
Fadero was pronounced dead at the scene. Padgett suffered minor injuries and was taken to a hospital before being released and arrested the next day.
Police say Padgett, who has at least 20 prior convictions across five Tennessee counties, was last arrested in Nashville in 2023 for a parole violation and had since been released.
“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.
In addition to the homicide charges, Padgett faces counts of felony reckless endangerment, attempted criminal homicide, and driving on a revoked license. Additional charges are pending, police said.
He is now being held at the at the Nashville Downtown Detention Center on a $805,000 bond. The Independent has attempted to find legal representation to contact for Padgett.
Fadero, a recent graduate of Fisk University, according to WKRN, was remembered by loved ones as kind and full of light. She had a bachelor’s degree in computer science and a minor in business administration and had also been on track to complete her nursing degree in August 2026.
According to a GoFundMe, Fadero was with her dog Nala at the time of the crash.
“She was simply on her way home, and her dog Nala was with her in the car,” according to the fundraiser.
“Miraculously, Nala survived the crash and was reunited with Oluwalayomi’s loved ones, but the loss of Oluwalayomi has left a deep void in the hearts of everyone who knew her.”
