Nationwide — Kirk Walker, an African American father of three from New York, was killed in a wrong-way crash caused by a drunk teenager who had just left a Manhattan nightclub. His tragic death happened just one day before his wedding.
According to the New York Post, 17-year-old Jimmy Connors spent the night drinking at Nebula, a club in Midtown. Despite being visibly drunk, the staff continued to serve him alcohol. After leaving the club, Connors drove a white pickup truck with Ontario plates onto the Henry Hudson Parkway.
Witnesses say Connors first crashed into another vehicle. An off-duty NYPD officer, Boubacar Barry, saw the incident and began chasing Connors in his personal SUV instead of calling 911. Both vehicles raced south in the northbound lanes until Connors’ truck slammed head-on into a car driven by Kirk Walker and his cousin, Rob McLaurin.
Walker, 38, was just one day from his wedding. He and McLaurin had just left Walker’s bachelor party when the crash occurred near West 154th Street around 2:20 a.m. Both men died at the scene.
After the crash, Connors fled on foot, leaving behind his injured 21-year-old passenger. Authorities arrested him the next day at the Canadian border. He had no ID and was reportedly limping and bloodied. Border agents identified him using NYPD photos.
Connors has been charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter, and leaving the scene of a fatal crash. He pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail.
Walker’s fiancée, Shauntea Weaver, has filed a lawsuit against Connors, Officer Barry, Nebula, the NYPD, and the city. She says the club violated state law by serving alcohol to a minor and claims Barry acted as a police officer during the unauthorized chase, making the city partly responsible.
“Kirk was taken from me just as we were starting our new life together,” Weaver said in a statement. “He was the love of my life… We’ve been left trying to pick up the pieces of our lives and come to terms with a future without him in it. Our lives will never be the same.”
The lawsuit seeks damages for wrongful death, pain and suffering, emotional loss, and other expenses related to the crash.
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