A groom-to-be was killed in a horrifying wrong-way crash in Manhattan early Saturday morning, just one day before his wedding. His bride was devastated on what should have been the best day of her life.
Shauntea Weaver, 40, was heartbroken when her fiancé Kirk Walker and his cousin Rob McLaurin were killed by a driver going the wrong way on the Henry Hudson Parkway in Harlem on Sunday. “I’m supposed to be in my wedding dress right now—not in mourning,” she said.
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.” “I’ve been feeling a different emotion every hour since it happened.”
According to cops and a Facebook post, Walker, a 38-year-old father of three from Manhattan, and McLaurin, 40, were having a bachelor party before getting married. At about 2:20 a.m., a pickup truck going the wrong way on the parkway hit their Dodge Challenger head-on.
The crash turned the big black-and-orange Challenger into a smashed ball of metal near West 154th Street and killed both men.
It was planned that Walker and Weaver would get married in a big ceremony at the Royal Manor wedding spot in Garfield, New Jersey, the sad bride said.
A representative from the catering hall stated that the ceremony had been called off because of “a fatal crash.”
Weaver said, “Our ceremony was set for today at 5 p.m., which is in a few hours.” “He passed away 24 hours before our wedding.” It’s terrible for everyone, not just me. He has three children who loved him very much. They’re very sad that their dad has been taken.
“He was such a kind and hardworking man,” she said. “He cared about everyone and would do anything for them.” “What a hard worker.”
The couple had started a successful car rental business, which did very well because Walker worked very hard, she said.
We both put our blood, sweat, and tears into it, Weaver said.
“They looked me in the eye and told me they would do everything they could to catch the criminal,” she said. “They told me the driver left his print on the airbags.” That’s good for them. The passenger also has broken legs and needs to speak up.
“Two people died in a careless car accident,” she said. “They should pay for killing two good people.”
“He can’t be brought back by anything.” We are looking for fairness, though.
Tommy Lee, Walker’s neighbor, said on Sunday that everyone in the neighborhood loved his friend.
Lee said, “He cared about his family and was helpful.” “Smart.” Really cool dude.”
Some people outside his apartment hadn’t heard the news yet, and when they were told he had died, they broke down in tears.
One man, who didn’t say his name, kept saying “no” over and over as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
He said, “That ain’t right.” “That’s not right at all.”
“He was getting married today!” She went on, “How does our family go from planning a party to now planning two funerals?” “I’m sorry for his fiancée’s pain right now.” Both cousins had kids, both their own and other cousins’!”
“This is a very hard time for my family,” she said. “I cry every hour.”
Alexis Stewart, another woman, called Walker on Facebook a “neighborhood ‘nephew’ to all the homies in the hood” and said that his cousin died with him.
The driver and passenger of the pickup truck ran away after the crash and have not been seen since.
But police said they caught up with the rider about 30 feet from where the crash happened.
That person was taken to the hospital by the police.