A bride-to-be whose fiancee was killed by a drunk driver the night before their wedding has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the teen who allegedly killed him.
Kirk Walker, 38, and his cousin Rob McLaurin were killed in horror crash on the Henry Hudson Parkway in Manhattan, New York City on August 24 last year.
Walker, a father of three, and McLaurin, 40, were hit head-on by a pickup truck barreling down the wrong way of the parkway at 2.20am.
The driver, then-17-year-old Jimmy Connors, had allegedly spent the night drinking at a nightclub near Bryant Park before he got behind the wheel of the truck.
He then allegedly crashed into another car, prompting off-duty police officer Boubacar Barry – who witnessed the collision – to pursue him his personal SUV, the complaint alleges.
Connors and Barry entered the parkway and were traveling southbound in the northbound lanes when the truck slammed head-on into Walker’s vehicle.
The teen fled the scene the scene of the crash, abandoning his injured 21-year-old passenger at the scene, the suit alleges. The passenger also tried to run away, but was caught by police.
Connors was arrested the next day near the Canadian border. He was taken back to New York and indicted on charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene of a fatal crash. He pleaded not guilty.
Kirk Walker, 38, and his cousin Rob McLaurin were killed in horror crash on the Henry Hudson Parkway in Manhattan on August 24 last year. His fiancée Shauntea Weaver (pictured with Walker) has now filed a wrongful death suit against those she holds responsible for his death
Walker, a father of three, and Rob McLaurin, 40, (pictured) were hit head-on by a pickup truck barreling down the wrong way of the parkway at 2.20am
Walker’s devastated fiancée Shauntea Weaver has now filed a wrongful death suit against Connors, Barry, the NYPD, City of New York and Nebula nightclub, where Connors had allegedly gone drinking.
The complaint, which was reviewed by Daily Mail, accuses Connors of recklessness and negligence that ‘directly and proximately’ caused Walker’s death.
Weaver argued that Barry acted as a law enforcement officer and not a civilian when he followed Connors in an unauthorized chase, which she alleges makes the city and police force also responsible for her beloved’s death.
She further alleges that Nebula violated state law by continuing to serve Connors alcohol despite him being ‘visibly intoxicated’ in the hours before the crash.
She is seeking unspecified damages for wrongful death, conscious pain and suffering, negligence, emotional and psychological loss, funeral expenses and punitive damages.
In a statement released through her attorneys to the New York Post, Weaver said that Walker was ‘taken from me just as we were starting our new life together’.
‘He was the love of my life,’ she continued, noting that their family was ‘left trying to pick up the pieces of our lives and come to terms with a future without him in it’.
She added: ‘Our lives will never be the same.’
Connors has been held without bail since his arraignment. His lawyer previously told the Post that Connors is ‘sick’, ‘autistic’, and ‘has epilepsy’. The attorney also claimed he believes Connors had been manipulated by someone else in the car.
Jimmy Connors, 17, was traveling southbound in the northbound lanes of the parkway – being pursued by off-duty cop Boubacar Barry – when he allegedly slammed head-on into Walker’s vehicle. Neither Connors or Barry have been pictured
Walker and Weaver worked at a successful car rental business that they had started together, which she said last year was all thanks to her late fiancé’s dedication.
‘He put his blood, sweat and tears into it – we both did,’ she said at the time of his death. ‘He was such a generous, hard-working man. He had a heart of gold and would do anything for anybody. Such a hard worker.’
Weaver was vowed to get justice for both Walker and McLaurin.
‘Nothing will bring him back. But we are seeking justice,’ she said last year. ‘The detectives looked me right in my face and said that they were going to do everything they could to get justice.
‘Two lives were lost in a reckless car crash. They need to pay for killing two innocent people,’ she added.
Daily Mail has approached representatives for Weaver, Connors, the NYPD and city of New York for comment.
