Donald Crayton struck 27-year-old Gloria Hymes and her 4-year-old daughter Zekani Hymes-Wilson as they crossed a street near their Milwaukee apartment on the morning of April 30, 2024. Surveillance video captured a black Chevrolet Impala slamming into the mother and daughter at a high rate of speed, sending both airborne before they landed in the roadway. Zekani died at the scene despite efforts by a responding police officer to revive her.
Background
According to a criminal complaint reviewed by Law&Crime, Hymes and her daughter were crossing the street that morning to pick up food from a Domino's Pizza location near their apartment. The driver of the Impala was later identified as Crayton, who lived with Hymes at the time. Prosecutors said Crayton and a woman identified as his sister initially parked the vehicle and ran back toward the victims after the collision. However, approximately one minute later, Crayton fled the scene, leaving the mortally wounded child and her mother in the roadway. Crayton's sister remained at the scene and accompanied Hymes to the hospital via ambulance.
Hymes suffered serious injuries including several fractures to her right leg. When police interviewed her at the hospital, she identified Crayton as both the driver of the vehicle that struck her and as her current boyfriend. She also identified his car as the one involved in the collision.
The Investigation
Milwaukee police located the damaged Impala abandoned near railroad tracks following the incident. Later that same day, officers tracked down Crayton in a vehicle with 23-year-old Adriana Merkel, who subsequently led authorities on a high-speed chase before crashing. Crayton attempted to flee on foot but was apprehended and taken into custody.
Once in custody, police reported that Crayton was crying uncontrollably and told officers he wanted to go to the psych ward. Merkel, who pleaded guilty to eluding a police officer, told investigators that Crayton said he could not live with the incident on his conscience, though he did not disclose details about the hit-and-run itself.
The investigation revealed significant concerns about Crayton's driving history. Police determined he had never been issued a driver's license and had previously been convicted of killing another person while driving in 2019. He also had two prior convictions for operating a vehicle without a license in 2017 and 2023. For the 2019 conviction, Crayton served 10 months in jail and three years of probation.
Crayton pleaded guilty to hit-and-run involving death, hit-and-run involving great bodily harm, and reckless homicide. Additional charges of knowingly operating a vehicle while suspended causing death, knowingly operating a vehicle while suspended causing great bodily harm, resisting or obstructing an officer, and soliciting someone to flee an officer in a vehicle were dismissed but read into the record during sentencing.
Key Takeaways
- Zekani Hymes-Wilson, 4 years old, was killed when Crayton's vehicle struck her and her mother near their Milwaukee apartment on April 30, 2024
- Crayton briefly stopped after the collision but fled the scene approximately one minute later, leaving both victims in the roadway
- Gloria Hymes, Crayton's live-in girlfriend at the time, suffered serious injuries including multiple leg fractures
- Crayton had never obtained a valid driver's license and had a prior conviction for killing someone while driving in 2019
- Adriana Merkel, who accompanied Crayton during his capture following a high-speed chase, pleaded guilty to eluding police
What's Next
Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge Laura Crivello sentenced Crayton to 20 years in prison and ordered him to never drive again. During sentencing, Crayton expressed remorse for his actions, but Judge Crivello noted he had made similar statements during his 2019 conviction hearing and questioned the authenticity of his contrition. "It doesn't ring so true when you say it on a previous date and don't change your behavior… I don't know if I buy the remorse," the judge stated.