A groom-to-be tragically lost his life in a devastating wrong-way crash in Manhattan early Saturday, just one day before his wedding.
Kirk Walker, 38, of Manhattan, was celebrating his bachelor party with his cousin Rob McLaurin, 40, when their Dodge Challenger was struck head-on around 2:20 a.m. by a pickup truck traveling the wrong way on the parkway, as reported by the NY Post.
Both men lost their lives in the collision, resulting in the Challenger being crushed beyond recognition near West 154th Street.
The devastating accident left his heartbroken bride devastated on what was meant to be the happiest day of her life.
“I’m supposed to be in my wedding dress right now. Not in mourning,” Shauntea Weaver, 40, told the Post on Sunday.
“I feel like this is a TV show and I’m going to wake up any minute and go back to my real life,” she added. “Every hour since it happened, I’m having a different emotion take me over.”
Walker and Weaver were prepared to exchange vows in a grand ceremony at a wedding venue in Garfield, New Jersey, as the heartbroken bride expressed. A representative from Royal Manor in Garfield confirmed that the wedding had been called off due to “a fatal crash.”
The Driver of the Truck That Allegedly Killed the Groom Before His Wedding is Still at Large
Walker and McLaurin were driving a black-and-orange Dodge Challenger north on the Henry Hudson Parkway around 2:20 a.m. That’s when a pickup truck collided head-on with them as it recklessly sped down the highway, according to police.
The driver of the fatal wrong-way pickup truck remains at large after fleeing the scene shortly after the accident. While the driver escaped, the passenger was apprehended approximately 30 feet from the crash site. He has since been taken to a local hospital.
Photos from the crash show the Challenger absolutely shredded. A Yankees ball cap rests among the wreckage.
Meanwhile, the would-be groom is being fondly remembered after his tragic death just before his wedding.
A woman on social media described Walker as a “neighborhood ‘nephew’ to all the friends in the hood,” sharing that he had been out celebrating his bachelor party. She noted that he was set to get married on Sunday.
“His cousin from NC that came up for the wedding also died,” the woman, Alexis Stewart, posted on Facebook