Groom-to-be, cousin killed in Henry Hudson Parkway crash 1 day before wedding
NEW YORK – We're learning more about the victims of Saturday's deadly crash on the Henry Hudson Parkway. One of the men killed was supposed to get married Sunday. His cousin was also killed.
The groom-to-be, 38-year-old Kirk Walker, was in a Dodge Challenger with his cousin, 40-year-old Robert McLaurin, when a wrong-way driver slammed head-on into their vehicle, police said. Both Walker and McLaurin were pronounced dead at the scene.
According to police, the wrong-way driver got out of the vehicle and ran away after the crash, and has not yet been caught. A passenger in that vehicle was taken to a local hospital to be treated for injuries.
Family gathers for vigil on what was supposed to be a wedding day
Instead of having a joyous ceremony Sunday, Walker's fiancée and their families gathered for a vigil to mourn their loss.
"We're supposed to be at my wedding right now. This is supposed to be a wedding at the Royal Manor, not a celebration of death," Walker's fiancée, Shauntea Weaver, said.
What was supposed to be a celebration turned into a nightmare for Weaver.
"Unbelievable, reckless," she said. "Kirk was amazing. He was the best, best person ever."
"My heart aches so much, and I'm really angry. I'm angry," Walker's father, Kirk Walker Sr., said.
Susan Walker wore her "mother of the groom" shirt to the vigil.
"This is what we're supposed to be wearing today ... But they took my baby. He wanted this wedding so, so much," she said. "And my nephew, they took my nephew, too."
McLaurin's parents were in town from North Carolina for their nephew's wedding.
"Today was the day. They didn't make it," father Robert McLaurin Sr. said. "My son was his best friend."
"I got the call, and I lost it. I started yelling. I said, 'What do you mean he's gone?'" mother Betty McLaurin said.
Family members said Walker and McLaurin were returning home from pre-wedding celebrations they were killed.
Walker's father has a message for the wrong-way driver.
"I want them to see my face. I just want them to know, it ain't over. It's not over," he said.