Woman who lost fiancé in Henry Hudson Parkway crash praying for justice after police arrest suspect
NEW YORK — A heartbroken woman whose fiancé died in a car crash on the Henry Hudson Parkway the day before they were supposed to get married is speaking out after a suspect was arrested.
A wrong-way driver killed groom-to-be Kirk Walker, 38, and his cousin, 40-year-old Robert McLaurin, on Aug. 24. The driver got out of the vehicle and ran away after the crash. That suspect, a 17-year-old boy, was caught near the United States-Canada border the next day, according to a criminal complaint, and was charged in connection to the crash three weeks later on Sept. 14.
"I'm just not the same person"
Though Shauntea Weaver never had a chance to walk down the aisle, her wedding dress still hangs in the closet.
"I just fell in love with it when I saw it," she said.
On her finger is Walker's ring, a token of his love for her.
"This was his ring. I got it resized so that I can wear it, and this is my ring," she said.
Their wedding was supposed to take place on Aug. 25.
"He's really, really a genuine person, just so kind-hearted, just hardworking, just wanted to really give me the world," Weaver said.
Walker and McLaurin were heading home after pre-wedding celebrations in New York City when they were killed in the head-on crash in Washington Heights.
"It's just heartbreaking. I cry all the time. I... I'm just not the same person ... My life partner was taken from me," Weaver said.
"Nothing will bring them back"
The suspect's arrest is some comfort for Weaver, whose life was turned upside down in seconds.
"I'm just praying that justice is served because nothing will bring them back," she said.
She has a message for the driver: "You took two incredible lives, two real, genuine, good people ... It's a step. We have a long road to go, I'm aware of that, but ultimate justice is the goal right now."
Police say the wrong-way driver is facing charges of manslaughter, leaving the scene of an incident and criminally negligent homicide.
