Driver accused of killing 2 girls in West Sacramento hit-and-run appears in court

A man charged with murder in connection with a Saturday night hit-and-run crash that killed two 17-year-old girls in West Sacramento appeared Wednesday before a judge in a courtroom packed with relatives and friends of the victims.

David Alison Walker, 71, appeared before Judge Clara M. Levers in Yolo Superior Court in Woodland, a day after county prosecutors filed a complaint charging him with murder and other crimes related to the deaths of Layla Chrissa Clemons and Jaea Chatman.

A groan emanated from the public section of the courtroom, where rows of Clemons’ family and friends wore pink shirts with her face, as Walker came into view.

He had a long white beard, a white mustache and silvery hair. He consulted with a public defender.

Advocating for Walker to be held without bail, a prosecutor said the defendant told police he had consumed between 6 and 8 ounces of vodka Saturday before driving from Fair Oaks “throughout Sacramento County and into Yolo County.”

The crash occurred around 9 p.m. on Jefferson Boulevard near Bevan Road, authorities said. After striking the two girls on bikes Walker left the scene, then returned to see their bodies and speak with other people at the scene before ultimately fleeing, the prosecutor said in court.

Jerry Chatman, the father of Jaea Chatman, made an emotional statement during the hearing, facing Walker.

“We’re not letting up. We’re gonna keep showing up,” he said. “We gonna make sure we get justice for Jaea and Layla.”

Jerry Chatman said in an interview after the hearing that his daughter had recently graduated from Natomas High School in Sacramento.

“It was sadness at first, but now it’s just turning into pure anger and hate,” he said of the experience seeing Walker.

Lisa Eberhardt, Clemons’ godmother, also addressed the courtroom, holding a framed photo of Clemons as a young child.

Eberhardt said that Clemons had been living with her and her husband in West Sacramento and that Jaea Chatman, Clemons’ best friend and sometime girlfriend, was staying there for the weekend.

The two were riding e-bikes with working lights for a short trip to another relative’s house, Eberhardt said. They were not wearing helmets, she said.

Clemons was set to complete her high school diploma through online coursework, said Eberhardt, who added that she found among her goddaughter’s belongings a notebook containing medical terms that Clemons was using to study for certified nurse assistant training.

Eberhardt said she could not imagine why a person would escape after crashing a car into two people.

“It could have been just an accident,” she said. “It went all the way from accident to murder by him leaving.”

In the criminal complaint filed Tuesday, the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office charged Walker with two counts each of murder, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and a hit-and-run felony. The complaint also alleges that Walker stole a black Audi A3 sedan that he was driving Saturday night, a felony charge, and that he did not have a valid driver’s license, a misdemeanor.

Levers decided Walker would be held in custody without bail, citing the prosecutor’s statement that the defendant had acknowledged his involvement in the crash. The next hearing in the case was scheduled for Aug. 20.