Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: Damien Stevenson Found Guilty of Second-Degree Murder in Lake Hefner Parkway Crash

An Oklahoma County jury has found Damien Stevenson guilty of second-degree murder in the deaths of a pregnant woman and her unborn child, closing the court case over a wrong way crash on Lake Hefner Parkway in northwest Oklahoma City nearly two years ago. The Oklahoma County District Attorney's Office announced the verdict, and KFOR reported that Stevenson was convicted on all eight counts against him, including two counts of second-degree murder.

Jurors recommended a life sentence for Stevenson. His formal sentencing is set for December 15, when a judge will impose the sentence in the case.

The night of the crash

On November 2, 2024, drivers on Lake Hefner Parkway began calling 911 about an older model light colored Chevy Malibu traveling southbound in the northbound lanes, last reported near Hefner Parkway and Britton Road. Before officers could stop it, the Malibu crashed head-on into a vehicle driven by Maria Ganchozo Rivera, who was 25 years old and five months pregnant. She and her unborn child died at a hospital.

According to a search warrant in the case, Stevenson's blood alcohol level tested at four times the legal limit. Police said he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol that night and was driving with no license and no insurance. Stevenson's 8-year-old grandson was riding in his vehicle and suffered a broken leg in the crash.

A record the jury heard about

Court filings cited by News 9 said Stevenson had been convicted of multiple DUIs before the crash, including two DUI convictions in 2022. News 9 also reported that in 2008 he was charged with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of a man near an Oklahoma City liquor store. He pleaded not guilty in that case, and the charge was later dismissed pending further investigation. He was never convicted in the 2008 case.

Prosecutors charged Stevenson with several crimes after the 2024 crash, including the two counts of second-degree murder on which the jury has now convicted him. The verdict, reported Sunday, November 1, 2026, comes just short of two years after the crash.

What happens next

Stevenson remains set for formal sentencing on December 15, 2026. The jury's recommendation of a life sentence now goes to the judge, who will set the final terms. The case is one of the most serious impaired driving prosecutions in Oklahoma County in recent years: a wrong way driver, a blood alcohol level four times the legal limit, and two deaths, a mother and the child she was carrying.

For drivers on Lake Hefner Parkway, the facts in the court record are the warning. Several motorists saw the danger that night and called 911 to report a car coming at them in the wrong lanes. The calls were not in time to prevent the head-on crash near Britton Road.