Nationwide — Kirk Walker, an African American father of three from New York, was killed in a wrong-way crash attributable to a drunk teenager who had simply left a Manhattan nightclub. His tragic dying occurred simply at some point earlier than his wedding ceremony.
In response to the New York Put up, 17-year-old Jimmy Connors spent the night time ingesting at Nebula, a membership in Midtown. Regardless of being visibly drunk, the workers continued to serve him alcohol. After leaving the membership, Connors drove a white pickup truck with Ontario plates onto the Henry Hudson Parkway.
Witnesses say Connors first crashed into one other car. An off-duty NYPD officer, Boubacar Barry, noticed the incident and commenced chasing Connors in his private SUV as an alternative of calling 911. Each autos raced south within the northbound lanes till Connors’ truck slammed head-on right into a automobile pushed by Kirk Walker and his cousin, Rob McLaurin.
Walker, 38, was simply at some point from his wedding ceremony. He and McLaurin had simply left Walker’s bachelor celebration when the crash occurred close to West 154th Road round 2:20 a.m. Each males died on the scene.
After the crash, Connors fled on foot, abandoning his injured 21-year-old passenger. Authorities arrested him the subsequent day on the Canadian border. He had no ID and was reportedly limping and bloodied. Border brokers recognized him utilizing NYPD pictures.
Connors has been charged with second-degree homicide, manslaughter, and leaving the scene of a deadly crash. He pleaded not responsible and is being held with out bail.
Walker’s fiancée, Shauntea Weaver, has filed a lawsuit in opposition to Connors, Officer Barry, Nebula, the NYPD, and town. She says the membership violated state regulation by serving alcohol to a minor and claims Barry acted as a police officer throughout the unauthorized chase, making town partly accountable.
“Kirk was taken from me simply as we have been beginning our new life collectively,” Weaver stated in an announcement. “He was the love of my life… We’ve been left making an attempt to select up the items of our lives and are available to phrases with a future with out him in it. Our lives won’t ever be the identical.”
The lawsuit seeks damages for wrongful dying, ache and struggling, emotional loss, and different bills associated to the crash.
