Tragedy as groom-to-be and cousin both die day before his wedding when wrong-way hit and run driver slammed into them

A bride has been left devastated after her groom-to-be and his cousin were tragically killed by a hit-and-run driver just hours before their wedding. 

Kirk Walker, and his cousin, Rob McLaurin, were killed by a wrong-way driver on the Henry Hudson Parkway in Harlem in the early hours of Saturday morning, as they were coming back from his bachelor party. 

Walker, a 38-year-old father of three from Manhattan, was meant to get married to devastated fiancée Shauntea Weaver, 40, at 5pm on Sunday at the Royal Manor wedding venue in Garfield, New Jersey. 

But Walker and McLaurin, 40, were killed when their Dodge Challenger was hit head-on by a pickup truck barreling down the wrong way of the parkway at 2:20am. 

Walker and McLaurin both died at the scene of the horror collision, which turned their car into a mangled mass of black and orange metal. 

Walker was killed alongside Rob McLaurin (pictured) as they made their way back from his bachelor party 

The pair tragically died at the scene of the crash in Harlem (pictured) 

The driver reportedly ran away from the collision, and has not been caught as of Monday. A passenger who was in the pick-up truck was taken to a local hospital for treatment. It is not currently known if the passenger has been arrested or charged in relation to the crash. 

Despondent Weaver told the New York Post: ‘He died 24 hours before our wedding. It’s devastating, and not just for me. He has three children that loved him immeasurably. They are heartbroken that their father’s been taken.’

‘He was such a generous, hard-working man. He had a heart of gold and would do anything for anybody. Such a hard worker.’ 

The couple worked at a successful car rental business they started together, which Weaver said was all thanks to her late fiance’s dedication. 

‘He put his blood, sweat and tears into it — we both did.’

She says all she wants now is justice for Walker. 

The couple worked at a successful car rental business they started together, which Weaver said was all thanks to her late fiance’s dedication

The driver reportedly ran away from the collision, and has not been caught as of Monday

Father Kirk Walker Sr. said of the crash that killed his son and nephew: ‘My heart aches so much, and I’m really angry. I’m angry.’ 

At a vigil for the two men, Walker’s mother (pictured) was seen wearing a ‘mother of the groom’ shirt, which she said she would’ve been wearing at her son’s wedding

‘Nothing will bring him back. But we are seeking justice. The detectives looked me right in my face and said that they were going to do everything they could to get justice.

‘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.

‘Two lives were lost in a reckless car crash,’ she continued. ‘They need to pay for killing two innocent people.’

At a vigil for the two men, Walker’s mother was seen wearing a ‘mother of the groom’ shirt, which she said she would’ve been wearing at her son’s wedding. 

‘This is what we’re supposed to be wearing today … But they took my baby. He wanted this wedding so, so much. And my nephew, they took my nephew, too’, Susan Walker said. 

Father Kirk Walker Sr. said: ‘My heart aches so much, and I’m really angry. I’m angry.’ 

He said he had a message for the hit-and-run driver: ‘I want them to see my face. I just want them to know, it ain’t over. It’s not over.’