Morrisville Woman Was Driving 113 mph Before Fatal Crash That Killed Durham Man

DURHAM, NC – The Durham Police Department’s Traffic and Crash Team (TACT) has charged Nyasia Oceania Palmer, 22, of Morrisville, with second-degree murder in connection with a fatal crash that killed passenger Elijah Hawkins-Maynor, 22, of Durham last month.

At approximately 3 a.m. on October 5, 2023, officers responded to a single motor vehicle crash on Page Road near Comstock Road. Palmer was operating a 2023 Hyundai Sonata traveling northeast on Page Road when she lost control of the vehicle and ran off the road to the right. The vehicle slid sideways across a concrete median before entering a wooded area. The vehicle then struck a large tree and went airborne before landing on the roadway and sliding upside down.

Hawkins-Maynor was pronounced deceased at the scene. Two other passengers, an adult female and an adult male, sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries. Palmer sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

Palmer has been charged with murder in the second degree, felony death by vehicle, two counts of felony serious injury by vehicle, speeding (113 miles per hour in a 45-mile per-hour zone), failure to maintain lane control, reckless driving, misdemeanor death by motor vehicle, and driving while license revoked.  

Palmer is currently being held in the Durham County Jail with no bond.

The crash remains under investigation. Anyone with any information is asked to call Investigator G.L. Munter at 919-560-4935 ext. 29448.