Rest in peace to Kirk Walker and his cousin, Rob McLaurin and condolences to their family and friends. It's a horrifying way to die. I want to know what the fuck they were doing going the wrong way on the Henry Hudson PWY in NYC. No pics of the driver Jimmy Connors or his 21 year old passenger. The passenger stayed on the scene while the driver fled to Canada. Meanwhile Mr Vehicular Manslaughter made it all the way to the Canadian Border with no ID.
By
Kate Sheehy,
Kevin Sheehan and
Steven Vago
Published Sep. 13, 2024, 11:56 p.m. ET
The teen wrong-way driver accused of killing a groom the day before his wedding in a horror hit-run in Harlem was nabbed by cops on Friday.
Jimmy Connors, 17, was allegedly barreling down the wrong side of the Henry Hudson Parkway in Upper Manhattan around 2:20 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 24 when he crashed his white pick-up truck into a car carrying Kirk Walker and his cousin, Rob McLaurin, killing both men.
Connors, of Long Island, was charged with vehicular manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and leaving the scene of an accident, according to police.
Walker, a 38-year-old dad of three from Manhattan, had been set to marry fiancée Shauntea Weaver, 40, in a lavish ceremony in New Jersey.
6
Kirk Walker, 38, of Manhattan was killed by a wrong-way hit-run driver the day before he was set to marry Shauntea Weaver.Obtained by the NY Post
“I’m supposed to be in my wedding dress right now — not in mourning,” Weaver told The Post in a heartbreaking exclusive interview on what was supposed to be her wedding day. “I feel like this is a TV show and I’m going to wake up any minute and go back to my real life.’’
Weaver said the accused killer must pay for his crimes.
“He killed two genuine, good people,” she said Friday when reached by The Post.
“This man frivolously took his life, recklessly took his life and completely ruined my life because that was my husband and I was supposed to start a life with him.”
6
The horror crash left the rogue white pick-up truck in smithereens and the other vehicle in pieces, too.G.N.Miller/NY Post
6
A New York Yankees baseball hat is left behind among the wreckage of the deadly Henry Hudson Parkway crash.G.N.Miller/NY Post
“I just want justice to be served to the fullest extent,” the grieving fiancée added.
“I just need some type of relief and I need to know that this person is going to pay for the lives he’s taken.”
She also said it’s the first step in “getting justice for Kirk and Robert.”
“While the detainment of the man who recklessly stole the lives of two of our beloved is something we take peace in knowing, understand that this is only the first step on a long road to justice,” she added.
6
Walker was set to tie the knot in a ceremony in New Jersey.Obtained by the NY Post
“We will not let Kirk & Robert’s lives be taken in vain and will continue to push so that things like this do not continue to happen.”
Walker, a rental-car-business owner, and McLaurin had been celebrating the groom-to-be’s bachelor party when their black-and-orange Dodge Challenger was struck near West 154th Street.
Weaver said detectives told her the cowardly driver who fled on foot after fatally hitting the pair “left his DNA on the airbags’’ of his vehicle when the safety devices were deployed by the crash, and they hoped to use the remnants to ID him.
6
Jimmy Connors, 17, was charged with vehicular manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and leaving the scene of an accident.G.N.Miller/NY Post
6
Connors allegedly fled the area on foot after the crash, forcing NYC Mayor Eric Adams to offer a $1,000 reward for his capture.G.N.Miller/NY Post
The pick-up driver also left behind an injured passenger, who tried to flee the scene, too, but only made it about 30 feet before cops grabbed him, police said.
The injured Manhattan man was hospitalized, and it was unclear whether he will be charged with anything.
After the deadly crash, Mayor Eric Adams put up $1,000 of his own money to help catch the fleeing driver.
“Any accident is a terrible accident but some of them turn into Shakespearean tragedies,” he said at the time.
nypost.com
Theodore Parisienne for New York Daily News
The 17-year-old driver blamed for a fiery wrong-way Manhattan crash that killed a groom-to-be and his cousin fled all the way to the Canadian border before he was captured, wearing the bloody clothes he wore as he limped away from the mangled wreckage, prosecutors said Saturday.
By Thomas Tracy | ttracy@nydailynews.com | New York Daily News
UPDATED: September 14, 2024 at 5:46 p.m.
A 17-year-old driver blamed for a fiery, wrong-way Manhattan crash that killed a groom-to-be and his cousin fled all the way to the Canadian border before he was captured, wearing the same bloody clothes he had on when he limped away from the mangled wreckage, prosecutors said Saturday.
When Jimmy Connors showed up at the border a day after the Aug. 24 crash on the Henry Hudson Parkway, he had no identification on him, prosecutors said.
Obtained by Daily News; Melissa Jay Photography
Kirk Walker Jr., right — who was to be married the next day — and his cousin, Robert McLaurin, left, were heading uptown on the Henry Hudson Parkway when a pickup driver going the wrong way slammed head-on into their Dodge Challenger near W. 154th St. about 2:30 a.m. on Aug. 24, cops said
Connors “had cuts and bruises on his face, a large bruise on the left side of his stomach, blood on his shirt and he was walking with a limp,” according to a criminal complaint filed in Manhattan Criminal Court.
Federal agents detained Connors at the border.
He was turned over to the NYPD on Friday and charged with vehicular manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.
Police said Connors was behind the wheel of a Chevy Silverado pickup truck with Canadian plates, heading northbound on the parkway near Dyckman St. in Washington Heights at about 2:20 p.m., when he sideswiped the car of an off-duty NYPD cop.
The transit cop called 911 and followed Connors, who sped away.
Melissa Jay Photography
Shauntea Weaver and her fiancé, Kirk Walker Jr., were set to be wed Aug. 25 — but Walker Jr. and his cousin were tragically killed the day before in a wrong-way hit-and-run crash in upper Manhattan.
The pickup truck headed down an exit ramp, made a quick U-turn and then drove south in the northbound lanes, prosecutors said.
A moment later, the pickup slammed head-on into a Dodge Challenger carrying groom-to-be Kirk Walker Jr., 38, and his cousin Robert McLaurin, 40, near W. 154th St.
The truck also struck an Audi S3 carrying a 27-year-old driver and a 28-year-old passenger before coming to a stop.
Surveillance cameras caught the truck’s driver, identified as Connors, wearing a white, short-sleeved polo shirt, stumble out of the ruined vehicle and run away on foot. The truck burst into flames.
“[He] fled the scene of this collision by jumping over the center median, and crossing the southbound lanes of the parkway,” prosecutors said in the complaint.
Connors jumped over a wall on the roadway’s western shoulder and disappeared into the woods, the complaint read.
His 21-year-old passenger remained at the scene and was not charged, cops said.
Theodore Parisienne for New York Daily News
The 17-year-old driver blamed for a fiery wrong-way crash that killed a groom-to-be and his cousin fled all the way to the Canadian border before he was captured. He was sporting the same bloody clothes he had on when he limped away from the mangled wreckage, prosecutors said Saturday.
Police said a Toyota Rav4 was spotted with the Chevy heading against traffic on the Henry Hudson Parkway. It was not clear if the Toyota was driven by the off-duty cop.
Walker Jr. and McLaurin were rushed to area hospitals but couldn’t be saved. Several members of the wedding party were on the parkway driving behind Walker Jr. when the horrific crash took place.
Cops looked up the pickup’s Canadian license plate in the NYPD’s reader system and learned the vehicle was seen leaving W. 41st St. in Midtown about a half hour before the crash.
Surveillance images recovered in the area helped provide police with Connor’s description, including the clothes he was wearing, cops said.
During a brief arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court Friday, a judge ordered Connors held without bail.
The teen’s defense attorney said Connors suffers from autism and epilepsy and “denies any involvement.”
“The evidence the DA has is quite weak and circumstantial,” attorney Jonathan Perez said. “It’s my understanding that the NYPD overstepped in their interviews and he will be exonerated.”
There is no direct evidence that shows Connors was driving the truck at the time of the crash, the lawyer maintained.
“This is not an individual who has ever been arrested before,” he said. “He’s extremely sad for everyone involved — but there is nothing right now that shows this case should be prosecuted.”
Walker’s bride-to-be said Friday she looked forward to seeing justice served for her fiancé and his cousin now that Connors has been charged.
“As a family, we are relieved to be at the first step in getting justice for Kirk and Robert,” Shauntea Weaver said. “We will not let Kirk and Robert’s lives be taken in vain, and will continue to push so that things like this do not continue to happen.”
Originally Published: September 14, 2024 at 5:19 p.m.
www.nydailynews.com
Cops nab NYC wrong-way driver accused of killing groom, cousin hours before wedding
By
Kate Sheehy,
Kevin Sheehan and
Steven Vago
Published Sep. 13, 2024, 11:56 p.m. ET
The teen wrong-way driver accused of killing a groom the day before his wedding in a horror hit-run in Harlem was nabbed by cops on Friday.
Jimmy Connors, 17, was allegedly barreling down the wrong side of the Henry Hudson Parkway in Upper Manhattan around 2:20 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 24 when he crashed his white pick-up truck into a car carrying Kirk Walker and his cousin, Rob McLaurin, killing both men.
Connors, of Long Island, was charged with vehicular manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and leaving the scene of an accident, according to police.
Walker, a 38-year-old dad of three from Manhattan, had been set to marry fiancée Shauntea Weaver, 40, in a lavish ceremony in New Jersey.
6Kirk Walker, 38, of Manhattan was killed by a wrong-way hit-run driver the day before he was set to marry Shauntea Weaver.Obtained by the NY Post
“I’m supposed to be in my wedding dress right now — not in mourning,” Weaver told The Post in a heartbreaking exclusive interview on what was supposed to be her wedding day. “I feel like this is a TV show and I’m going to wake up any minute and go back to my real life.’’
Weaver said the accused killer must pay for his crimes.
“He killed two genuine, good people,” she said Friday when reached by The Post.
“This man frivolously took his life, recklessly took his life and completely ruined my life because that was my husband and I was supposed to start a life with him.”
6The horror crash left the rogue white pick-up truck in smithereens and the other vehicle in pieces, too.G.N.Miller/NY Post
6A New York Yankees baseball hat is left behind among the wreckage of the deadly Henry Hudson Parkway crash.G.N.Miller/NY Post
“I just want justice to be served to the fullest extent,” the grieving fiancée added.
“I just need some type of relief and I need to know that this person is going to pay for the lives he’s taken.”
She also said it’s the first step in “getting justice for Kirk and Robert.”
“While the detainment of the man who recklessly stole the lives of two of our beloved is something we take peace in knowing, understand that this is only the first step on a long road to justice,” she added.
6Walker was set to tie the knot in a ceremony in New Jersey.Obtained by the NY Post
“We will not let Kirk & Robert’s lives be taken in vain and will continue to push so that things like this do not continue to happen.”
Walker, a rental-car-business owner, and McLaurin had been celebrating the groom-to-be’s bachelor party when their black-and-orange Dodge Challenger was struck near West 154th Street.
Weaver said detectives told her the cowardly driver who fled on foot after fatally hitting the pair “left his DNA on the airbags’’ of his vehicle when the safety devices were deployed by the crash, and they hoped to use the remnants to ID him.
6Jimmy Connors, 17, was charged with vehicular manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and leaving the scene of an accident.G.N.Miller/NY Post
6Connors allegedly fled the area on foot after the crash, forcing NYC Mayor Eric Adams to offer a $1,000 reward for his capture.G.N.Miller/NY Post
The pick-up driver also left behind an injured passenger, who tried to flee the scene, too, but only made it about 30 feet before cops grabbed him, police said.
The injured Manhattan man was hospitalized, and it was unclear whether he will be charged with anything.
After the deadly crash, Mayor Eric Adams put up $1,000 of his own money to help catch the fleeing driver.
“Any accident is a terrible accident but some of them turn into Shakespearean tragedies,” he said at the time.
Cops nab NYC wrong-way driver accused of killing groom, cousin hours before wedding
The suspect was allegedly barreling down the wrong side of the Henry Hudson Parkway in Upper Manhattan around 2:20 a.m. Saturday when he crashed his white pick-up truck into a car carrying Kirk Wal…
nypost.com
Theodore Parisienne for New York Daily News
The 17-year-old driver blamed for a fiery wrong-way Manhattan crash that killed a groom-to-be and his cousin fled all the way to the Canadian border before he was captured, wearing the bloody clothes he wore as he limped away from the mangled wreckage, prosecutors said Saturday.
By Thomas Tracy | ttracy@nydailynews.com | New York Daily News
UPDATED: September 14, 2024 at 5:46 p.m.
A 17-year-old driver blamed for a fiery, wrong-way Manhattan crash that killed a groom-to-be and his cousin fled all the way to the Canadian border before he was captured, wearing the same bloody clothes he had on when he limped away from the mangled wreckage, prosecutors said Saturday.
When Jimmy Connors showed up at the border a day after the Aug. 24 crash on the Henry Hudson Parkway, he had no identification on him, prosecutors said.
Obtained by Daily News; Melissa Jay Photography
Kirk Walker Jr., right — who was to be married the next day — and his cousin, Robert McLaurin, left, were heading uptown on the Henry Hudson Parkway when a pickup driver going the wrong way slammed head-on into their Dodge Challenger near W. 154th St. about 2:30 a.m. on Aug. 24, cops said
Connors “had cuts and bruises on his face, a large bruise on the left side of his stomach, blood on his shirt and he was walking with a limp,” according to a criminal complaint filed in Manhattan Criminal Court.
Federal agents detained Connors at the border.
He was turned over to the NYPD on Friday and charged with vehicular manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.
Police said Connors was behind the wheel of a Chevy Silverado pickup truck with Canadian plates, heading northbound on the parkway near Dyckman St. in Washington Heights at about 2:20 p.m., when he sideswiped the car of an off-duty NYPD cop.
The transit cop called 911 and followed Connors, who sped away.
Melissa Jay Photography
Shauntea Weaver and her fiancé, Kirk Walker Jr., were set to be wed Aug. 25 — but Walker Jr. and his cousin were tragically killed the day before in a wrong-way hit-and-run crash in upper Manhattan.
The pickup truck headed down an exit ramp, made a quick U-turn and then drove south in the northbound lanes, prosecutors said.
A moment later, the pickup slammed head-on into a Dodge Challenger carrying groom-to-be Kirk Walker Jr., 38, and his cousin Robert McLaurin, 40, near W. 154th St.
The truck also struck an Audi S3 carrying a 27-year-old driver and a 28-year-old passenger before coming to a stop.
Surveillance cameras caught the truck’s driver, identified as Connors, wearing a white, short-sleeved polo shirt, stumble out of the ruined vehicle and run away on foot. The truck burst into flames.
“[He] fled the scene of this collision by jumping over the center median, and crossing the southbound lanes of the parkway,” prosecutors said in the complaint.
Connors jumped over a wall on the roadway’s western shoulder and disappeared into the woods, the complaint read.
His 21-year-old passenger remained at the scene and was not charged, cops said.
Theodore Parisienne for New York Daily News
The 17-year-old driver blamed for a fiery wrong-way crash that killed a groom-to-be and his cousin fled all the way to the Canadian border before he was captured. He was sporting the same bloody clothes he had on when he limped away from the mangled wreckage, prosecutors said Saturday.
Police said a Toyota Rav4 was spotted with the Chevy heading against traffic on the Henry Hudson Parkway. It was not clear if the Toyota was driven by the off-duty cop.
Walker Jr. and McLaurin were rushed to area hospitals but couldn’t be saved. Several members of the wedding party were on the parkway driving behind Walker Jr. when the horrific crash took place.
Cops looked up the pickup’s Canadian license plate in the NYPD’s reader system and learned the vehicle was seen leaving W. 41st St. in Midtown about a half hour before the crash.
Surveillance images recovered in the area helped provide police with Connor’s description, including the clothes he was wearing, cops said.
During a brief arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court Friday, a judge ordered Connors held without bail.
The teen’s defense attorney said Connors suffers from autism and epilepsy and “denies any involvement.”
“The evidence the DA has is quite weak and circumstantial,” attorney Jonathan Perez said. “It’s my understanding that the NYPD overstepped in their interviews and he will be exonerated.”
There is no direct evidence that shows Connors was driving the truck at the time of the crash, the lawyer maintained.
“This is not an individual who has ever been arrested before,” he said. “He’s extremely sad for everyone involved — but there is nothing right now that shows this case should be prosecuted.”
Walker’s bride-to-be said Friday she looked forward to seeing justice served for her fiancé and his cousin now that Connors has been charged.
“As a family, we are relieved to be at the first step in getting justice for Kirk and Robert,” Shauntea Weaver said. “We will not let Kirk and Robert’s lives be taken in vain, and will continue to push so that things like this do not continue to happen.”
Originally Published: September 14, 2024 at 5:19 p.m.
Teen suspect in deadly wrong-way Manhattan crash fled to Canada border before being caught: prosecutors
The suspect “had cuts and bruises on his face, a large bruise on the left side of his stomach, blood on his shirt and he was walking with a limp,” per the criminal complaint.
www.nydailynews.com
