A groom-to-be was tragically killed in a wrong-way crash in Manhattan, New York, USA, early Saturday, August 24, just one day before his wedding, leaving his devastated bride-to-be heartbroken.
Kirk Walker, 38, and his cousin, Rob McLaurin, 40, were killed when their Dodge Challenger was struck head-on by a pickup truck traveling the wrong way on the Henry Hudson Parkway in Harlem. The accident occurred around 2:20 a.m., according to police and a Facebook post.
On Sunday, August 25, the day that was supposed to be their wedding day, Shauntea Weaver, 40, expressed her grief: “I’m supposed to be in my wedding dress right now — not in mourning.” She told The 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. Every hour since it happened, I’m having a different emotion take me over.”
Walker, a father of three from Manhattan, was celebrating his bachelor party with McLaurin ahead of the wedding. The ceremony, scheduled to take place at the Royal Manor wedding venue in Garfield, New Jersey, was canceled due to the fatal crash. A catering hall representative confirmed the cancellation.
“Our ceremony was supposed to be at 5:00 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 who loved him immeasurably. They are heartbroken that their father’s been taken.”
Weaver described Walker as a “generous, hard-working man” with “a heart of gold” and highlighted the couple’s successful car rental business, which they built through immense effort.
Weaver is now seeking justice for her fiancé. “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.”
She continued: “Two lives were lost in a reckless car crash. They need to pay for killing two innocent people. Nothing will bring him back. But we are seeking justice.”
Walker’s neighbor, Tommy Lee, described him as “family-oriented, helpful, smart. Amazing dude.” Lee noted that the community was deeply affected by the news. Friends and family took to social media to mourn Walker’s death.
Akilañ Ke-Ki Woods wrote on Facebook: “At 5:30 a.m. I received the most heartbreaking call that two of my cousins were killed in a car accident. He was getting married today! How does our family go from preparing a celebration to now planning two funerals?”
She added: “His fiancé, I can’t imagine her pain right now. Both cousins had children, both parents and siblings!”
Alexis Stewart also posted on Facebook, identifying Walker as a “neighborhood ‘nephew’ to all the homies in the hood” and noting that his cousin died alongside him.
The pickup truck driver fled the scene, as did the passenger, who was later apprehended about 30 feet from the crash site and taken to the hospital. It is unclear if the passenger has been arrested or charged with any crime.
