Open in App
  • Local
  • U.S.
  • Election
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
  • Education
  • Real Estate
  • Newsletter
  • New York Post

    Groom-to-be killed in wrong-way NYC crash 1 day before wedding, as grieving bride says, ‘I’m supposed to be in my wedding dress right now’

    By Kevin Sheehan, Larry Celona, Steve Janoski,

    2024-08-25

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=04oZNP_0v9ezHN600

    A groom-to-be was killed in a horrifying wrong-way crash in Manhattan early Saturday just one day before his wedding — leaving his heartbroken bride shattered on what should have been the happiest day of her life.

    “I’m supposed to be in my wedding dress right now — not in mourning,” devastated fiancée Shauntea Weaver, 40, said Sunday after her would-be groom, Kirk Walker, and his cousin, Rob McLaurin, were killed by a wrong-way driver on the Henry Hudson Parkway in Harlem.

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0BrdkL_0v9ezHN600
    “I’m supposed to be in my wedding dress,” Walker’s heartbroken fiancee said. Obtained by the NY Post

    “I feel like this is a TV show and I’m going to wake up any minute and go back to my real life,” she told The Post. “Every hour since it happened, I’m having a different emotion take me over.”

    Walker, a 38-year-old father of three from Manhattan, was celebrating his bachelor party ahead of his nuptials with McLaurin, 40, when their Dodge Challenger was hit head-on at about 2:20 a.m. by a pickup truck barreling the wrong way down the parkway, according to police and a Facebook post.

    Both men died in the collision, which turned the big, black-and-orange Challenger into a mangled ball of metal near West 154th Street.

    Walker and Weaver were set to tie the knot in a huge ceremony at the Royal Manor wedding venue in Garfield, New Jersey, the despondent bride said.

    Mayor Eric Adams offers $1K of his own money reward for arrest of wrong-way driver who killed NYC groom-to-be day before wedding

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0X0o77_0v9ezHN600
    The horrific crash took place on the Henry Hudson Parkway early Saturday. G.N.Miller/NY Post

    A catering hall representative confirmed that the ceremony had been canceled due to “a fatal crash.”

    “Our ceremony was supposed to be at 5 p.m. today — in a few hours,” Weaver said. “He died 24 hours before our wedding. It’s devastating, and not just for me. He has three children that loved him immeasurably. They are heartbroken that their father’s been taken.”

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=376Jqw_0v9ezHN600
    Walker had been out celebrating his bachelor party before he was killed in the collision. Obtained by the NY Post

    “He was such a generous, hard-working man,” she continued. “He had a heart of gold and would do anything for anybody. Such a hard worker.”

    The couple had started a successful car rental business that had prospered thanks to Walker’s incredibly hard work, she added.

    “He put his blood, sweat and tears into it — we both did,” Weaver said.

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=28P8H5_0v9ezHN600
    Walker was set to tie the knot Sunday in a ceremony in New Jersey. Obtained by the NY Post

    Parents of teen crash victim want driver’s mom punished after texts reveal she knew of son’s reckless speeding habit: ‘Like she handed him an AR-15’

    Now, it’s about getting justice for her deceased beau.

    “The detectives looked me right in my face and said that they were going to do everything they could to get justice,” she said. “They told me the driver left his DNA on the airbags. So they have that. Also the passenger is in the hospital with broken legs and he needs to speak up.”

    “Two lives were lost in a reckless car crash,” she continued. “They need to pay for killing two innocent people.”

    “Nothing will bring him back. But we are seeking justice.”

    Walker’s neighbor, Tommy Lee, said Sunday that his pal was uniformly loved in the community.

    “He was family-oriented, helpful,” Lee said. “Smart. Amazing dude.”

    Some people outside his apartment hadn’t heard the news yet — and they erupted in lamentations when told of his passing.

    “What! No!” called out one man, who didn’t share his name but kept repeating “No,” as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

    CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR METRO DAILY NEWSLETTER

    “That ain’t right,” he said. “That just ain’t right.”

    Meanwhile, friends and family took to social media to lament Walker’s passing.

    “At 5:30am I received the most heartbreaking call that two of my cousins were killed in a car accident,” Akilañ Ke-Ki Woods wrote on Facebook .

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=11BGyI_0v9ezHN600
    The driver of the wrong-way pickup truck fled after the crash. G.N.Miller/NY Post

    “He was getting married today! How does our family go from preparing a celebration to now planning two funerals?” she continued. “His fiancé, I can’t imagine her pain right now. Both cousins had children, both parents and siblings!”

    “My family is hurting and broken right now,” she added. “I can’t go one hour without breaking down in tears.”

    Another woman, Alexis Stewart, identified Walker on Facebook as a “neighborhood ‘nephew’ to all the homies in the hood” and noted that his cousin died alongside him.

    The pickup truck’s driver took off after the accident — as did the passenger — and remains on the loose.

    But cops caught up with the passenger about 30 feet from the crash, cops said.

    Authorities brought that person to the hospital.

    It’s not clear if they’ve been arrested or charged with any crime.

    For the latest metro stories, top headlines, breaking news and more, visit nypost.com/metro/

    Expand All
    Comments / 381
    Add a Comment
    MISSEB
    08-30
    if the passenger doesn't give up, the driver charge him with the crime
    Dessie Davis
    08-30
    sad OMG
    View all comments
    YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
    Local News newsLocal News
    Total Apex Sports & Entertainment14 days ago
    Total Apex Sports & Entertainment3 days ago
    Total Apex Sports & Entertainment14 days ago
    Total Apex Sports & Entertainment19 days ago

    Comments / 0