At a hearing in D.C. Superior Court on Tuesday, authorities showed graphic footage and revealed new details of the crash that killed three people, and a defense attorney publicly confirmed that Walker had a valid license at the time of the crash — though D.C. law suggests that her convictions should have resulted in it being revoked.

The deadly encounter already had sparked outrage over whether city officials were doing enough to keep bad drivers off the roads; at the time, the SUV Walker drove had more than 40 outstanding traffic tickets with fines that totaled $12,300. Prosecutors noted in court Tuesday that Walker, 43, had racked up five DUIs since 2009. Her most recent conviction and sentence came in 2022.

“She seems to make a habit of doing this,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamie Carter said. “She’s a danger to this community given her criminal history.”

A Lyft driver picked up 2 friends after night out in D.C. None made it home.

Killed in the crash were Mohamed Kamara, a 42-year-old Lyft driver working extra hours to save up for a trip to see his wife and daughter in Sierra Leone; and 23-year-old friends Olvin Torres Velasquez and Jonathan Cabrera Mendez, who requested a ride after a late dinner in the District.

About 20 family members and supporters of the victims sat in the courtroom and began wiping tears as photos of Kamara’s Honda were shown. The entire front and middle of the sedan were smashed and burned, leaving it virtually unrecognizable.

Walker, charged with second-degree murder in connection with the deaths, also wiped away tears.

Authorities said Walker’s blood alcohol level at the time of the crash was .10, above the legal limit of .08. She also tested positive for marijuana.

The D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles has long declined to address whether Walker had a valid license, though a defense attorney asserted in court that she did.

Responding to inquiries from D.C. Council Transportation Committee Chairman Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), DMV Director Gabriel Robinson said in a Monday letter that a person who has three alcohol-related offenses within five years would have their license revoked, with the option — but not a guarantee — to seek reinstatement after five years. The DMV generally handles the revocation process after being notified by the courts of a conviction.

But Robinson said that officials found “technical changes to the file transfer” that “may have affected DMV’s ability to process the files” related to Walker. He said the DMV and Superior Court officials are working to improve how such files are monitored, as well as ways to improve communication between the court and DMV employees. A D.C. Superior Court spokesman has asserted that his records showed the motor vehicle agency had been properly notified of Walker’s three past convictions for driving under the influence in D.C.

Allen spokesman Erik Salmi said Tuesday that his office plans to ask for more clarity regarding the “total universe of eligible suspensions.”

Robinson said the DMV suspended or revoked more than 2,000 licenses during fiscal 2021 and more than 1,900 licenses in fiscal 2022. As of Monday, the agency had revoked 1,029 licenses so far this year.

When the Park Police officer pulled over Walker at 1:34 a.m. just north of the Kennedy Center, he told her, “You were flying,” as he relayed her speed.

Walker told the officer that “I left my 10-year-old son at home by himself” and that she was trying to get to the house.

Court documents asserted that Walker and her passenger had been drinking Hennessy cognac. The officer told them that they were not allowed to have an open container of alcohol while driving.

Then, as the officer walked back to his own car, Walker sped away.

At 1:39 a.m., about a mile from where she was stopped, Walker’s Sirius XM radio called 911 to alert authorities of a crash, Park Police Detective Kevin Turner testified.

Walker told police later that she sped off because she believed her boyfriend had an illegal firearm, and she did not want him to get arrested.

Turner said a firearm was not found at the scene of the crash.

Walker’s public defender, Dana Page, said her client was hospitalized for weeks following the accident and still needed physical therapy and various medications, and asserted she was not receiving the proper treatment at the D.C. jail. Page argued that her client’s alcohol level was “relatively low,” albeit over the legal limit. In court, Walker used a cane to support herself.

Judge Robert Okun ordered Walker to remain in jail until trial, citing her repeated DUIs. “This is an incredibly serious offense,” Okun said. “She was ordered not to get behind a wheel after consuming alcohol, and now three decedents were killed.”

A follow-up hearing was scheduled for August.

While most days the smoke has remain higher in the atmosphere, some of Tuesday’s smoke — brewed by fires in Quebec — also made it to the surface. The same happened last Thursday from wildfires in New Jersey. In addition to offering an occasional whiff of acrid air, the smoke has also raised health concerns.

Where wildfire smoke is hitting the U.S. the hardest — and when it will end

Parts of the region are seeing Code Orange air quality, indicating hazardous air for sensitive groups, with a few nearing Code Red, signifying unhealthy air for some members of the general public.

You might also notice a tickle in your throat and hazy views. Reagan National Airport saw its visibility drop to 5 miles Tuesday afternoon.

Clean Air Partners — which provides air quality forecasts for the Washington-Baltimore region — is predicting code orange conditions for Washington on Wednesday, and code red for Baltimore. Code red conditions are predicted to reach Washington on Thursday.

Where did the smoke come from?

Most of the smoke in our skies now is from wildfires in Quebec. Storms bringing lightning but not a lot of rain to the already parched region set off many of the larger blazes. Others were started by human means.

A cold front that swept through Quebec on Monday caused winds to increase and shift, which boosted smoke production as fires grew.

The D.C. area has also seen smoke from western Canada, Nova Scotia and New Jersey in recent weeks. We’re still getting some smoke from western Canada.

Where is the smoke the worst?

Air quality Tuesday afternoon in the immediate Washington region is mainly Code Yellow to Code Orange on official EPA stations. Code Orange is unhealthy for sensitive groups, such as the very young and elderly, or people with cardiovascular conditions.

“That is extremely rare these days,” wrote Ryan Stauffer, a NASA research scientist, in a text message. “The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria region has not had a Code Orange for PM2.5 outside of July 4 since Nov. 25, 2016.”

The Purple Air website — a network of unofficial stations — has shown the region spiking as high as low-end Code Red. Local air quality index (AQI) values of 150 to 175 have been common on these stations.

Code Red is unhealthy for the general population, with sensitive groups feeling more serious effects. Code Red begins at 150, while Code Orange starts at 100.

Similar conditions are ongoing up and down the Northeast urban corridor and westward into the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley. Even Code Purple conditions — 200-plus AQI, very unhealthy for everyone — have been relatively widespread across parts of New York, Pennsylvania and into parts of New England.

Will the smoke get worse?

Fires in Quebec continue to push smoke southward, and the general pattern that drives it this way is set to persist.

Areas of thicker smoke to our north should drift in this general direction over at least the next few days, although some of the smoke may shift eastward out to sea.

With a stalled area of low pressure east of Maine set to hang around and even intensify its grip for a time, wind patterns may better align the smoke plumes with our region Wednesday into Thursday. The image above shows dense smoke low in the atmosphere headed south.

“Tomorrow could be even worse, especially toward the evening if some model forecasts end up correct,” wrote Stauffer.

Like all things weather-related, confidence decreases with time. The air flow pattern bringing smoke into the region appears set to persist into at least the weekend and perhaps beyond.

The low-level wind trajectories seen lately in the D.C. and broader Mid-Atlantic regions — frequently coming from the north — are unusual this time of year. Without the fires, it would be quite pleasant for June. If winds return to a more typical summer direction out of the south, much of the lower-level smoke should disperse.

However, high-altitude winds from the jet stream may continue to carry smoke from Canada toward the central and eastern United States for many weeks to come. So at least some haze in the sky from Canadian smoke may make regular appearances, filtering sunshine, even if it doesn’t make it down to ground level very often, where it is potentially harmful.