By admin 
Three years after a Morrisville, North Carolina, woman killed a University of North Carolina student and paralyzed a recent UNC graduate in a 113-mph crash, court records indicate she’s been sent to prison.
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Nyasia Oceania Palmer, 25, was originally charged with second-degree murder, felony death by vehicle, felony serious injury by vehicle and several other offenses in the Oct. 5, 2023, crash, The News & Observer previously reported. But as part of a plea deal, Palmer pleaded guilty March 30 to felony death by vehicle and felony serious injury by vehicle, while her remaining charges were dismissed, according to court documents.
Palmer had recently graduated from N.C. Central University with a degree in criminal justice and was with three other college students the night of the crash, according to court documents. She was driving her Hyundai Sonata about 3 a.m. on Page Road near Duke Health Center Arringdon that night when she lost control of the car, investigators wrote.
The sedan then slid sideways over a concrete median and hit several trees before flying into the air, ultimately landing on its roof, according to a search warrant. Rear passenger Elijah Hawkins-Maynor, 22, was pronounced dead at the scene. Two other passengers were hospitalized with serious injuries, including Rahman Mateen, a recent UNC graduate. Mateen was ultimately paralyzed from the waist down, social media posts show.
Car computer showed speed at time of fatal crash
Palmer admitted to officers on the scene that she was the driver and to having had three shots of tequila that night; bloodwork at the hospital showed she had a BAC of 0.09, just over the legal limit for driving, and had consumed THC, the main psychoactive component in cannabis. Two containers of alcoholic beverages were also found in the car, according to search warrants.
When detectives seized the computer from Palmer’s car’s engine, they found she’d been driving nearly 70 mph over the 45 mph speed limit five seconds before the crash, search warrants state. The Sonata was still traveling 91 mph when it first hit a tree.
“It also showed that Palmer was applying 100 percent throttle until just a few seconds before impact,” an investigator wrote. “There were no signs of braking.”
At least one of Palmer’s passengers was apparently aware of the danger; Hawkins-Maynor’s father told police his son had called a friend that night and said the driver was speeding over 100 mph, according to search warrants. Hawkins-Maynor also called and texted friends asking them to pray for him, and one of the other passengers reported Palmer was upset about something that night, his mother and stepfather said in a YouTube video.
Hawkins-Maynor, a senior studying exercise sports science, was best friends with Mateen, who was working toward becoming a sports agent, ABC11 reported. Palmer, too, had a love for sports, having moved to Durham from Wisconsin to play basketball for N.C. Central on a full scholarship, according to the university’s website.
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It’s not clear why Palmer’s second-degree murder charge was dismissed, but search warrants indicate investigators theorized she may have intentionally caused the crash. Palmer’s license was revoked, and court records show she’d pleaded guilty to traffic-related offenses at least five times prior to the wreck. That included an incident two months before the crash where a state trooper caught her driving 101 mph in a 65 mph zone in Orange County.
Superior Court Judge Brenda Branch sentenced Palmer to a minimum of five years and four months and a maximum of seven years and five months in prison, according to a sentencing document. However, Branch ordered that she be eligible for advanced supervised release after four years and three months, meaning she will likely be released on supervision in the spring of 2030, records show.
Palmer was also ordered to complete substance abuse and mental health treatment programs while in prison, according to court documents. She received credit for 45 days spent in jail prior to her plea.
Fundraisers for wheelchair-accessible vehicle, scholarships
Meanwhile, Hawkins-Maynor’s family and the crash’s survivors have worked to recover from the devastation of that night, social media posts show. Mateen shares regular updates on his recovery and has raised just over half of a $12,000 goal to buy a wheelchair-accessible vehicle and cover medical costs, according to his GoFundMe.
Hawkins-Maynor’s mother and stepfather, Rosalind and Almer Reddick, created the EJHM Foundation in their son’s honor, awarding $500 scholarships to 15 students each year and offering mentorship and resources to those in need, according to the foundation’s website. And they find comfort in the “Trust God” shirt that Hawkins-Maynor, a devout Christian, was wearing when he died, they said in a YouTube video.
“Despite the sudden and tragic death of our son, we continue to stand on our faith and the word of God,” the Reddicks wrote on the foundation’s website. “This is the way our son lived; and this foundation will serve as a legacy to Elijah Jayden Hawkins Maynor, not of a life cut short, but of a LIFE WELL LIVED.”
This story was originally published October 13, 2026 at 1:44 PM with the headline “Driver caught going 101 mph killed a student in a 113-mph crash just 2 months later.”
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