A 17-year-old driver involved in a fatal wrong-way crash on the Henry Hudson Parkway in Manhattan has been captured after fleeing to the Canadian border. The driver, Jimmy Connors, was found at the border wearing the same bloody clothes he had on when he left the scene of the crash. The crash claimed the lives of groom-to-be Kirk Walker Jr. and his cousin Robert McLaurin. Connors has been charged with vehicular manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.
According to prosecutors, Connors was driving a Chevy Silverado pickup truck with Canadian plates when he sideswiped an off-duty NYPD cop’s car and then fled the scene. He then went the wrong way down the parkway, causing a head-on collision with the victims’ vehicle and another car. Surveillance footage captured Connors fleeing the scene and jumping over a center median before disappearing into the woods.
Walker’s fiancée, Shauntea Weaver, expressed relief that Connors has been charged and is seeking justice for her late fiancé and his cousin. Connors’ defense attorney claims his client suffers from autism and epilepsy and denies any involvement in the crash. The lawyer believes the evidence against Connors is weak and circumstantial and maintains that there is no direct proof that Connors was driving the pickup truck at the time of the crash. The case is ongoing as prosecutors continue to build their case against Connors for his role in the tragic accident.
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