A woman killed in a hit-and-run in Acadia National Park was struck by a car registered to her boyfriend of more than three years—a man with a history of domestic violence that Maine authorities are now “actively” hunting for, the Portland Press Herald reported. Nicole Mokeme, 35, was at a scientific research center in the park, where she had reportedly been helping to organize the weekend’s Black Excellence Retreat, when she was hit by a black BMV SUV between late Saturday and early Sunday. “She was a light to everybody,” a friend told the newspaper. It is unknown exactly when or how Mokeme was struck, or whether Raymond Lester, also 35, was behind the wheel. Mokeme and Lester had been dating for more than three years, according to a post on her social media, the Press Herald said. Lester’s criminal record stretches back to 2008, when he was first arrested and charged with domestic violence assault by Portland police. He violated at least one protection from abuse order and was arrested “several times” between 2012 and 2021 for a variety of crimes, including drug possession, assault, theft, and forgery, the Press Herald reported.
