The Lengthy Island teen accused of driving the wrong-way on the Henry Hudson Parkway and killing a person 24 hours earlier than the sufferer's marriage ceremony was allegedly drunk and being chased by an off-duty NYPD cop on the time of the crash.
Jimmy Connors had allegedly spent the night time ingesting at Nebula on West forty first Road, the place employees served him alcohol regardless of him being “visibly intoxicated” within the hours earlier than the horrific Aug. 24 collision, according to a lawsuit.
After Connors, 17, left the membership, he allegedly obtained behind the wheel of a white Chevy Silverado with Ontario plates and crashed into one other automotive — prompting off-duty cop Boubacar Barry, who witnessed the wreck, to pursue him in his private SUV as a substitute of calling 911, in accordance with the Manhattan Supreme Court docket submitting.
Each automobiles then barreled south within the northbound lanes of the parkway, the place the Silverado slammed head-on right into a automotive pushed by Kirk Walker and his cousin, Rob McLaurin, authorities stated.
Walker, 38, was someday from his marriage ceremony when he and McLaurin had been killed.
Walker and McLaurin had simply left the groom-to-be's bachelor social gathering and had been driving north close to West 154th Road in a Dodge Challenger when the two:20 a.m. crash occurred, stated Walker's fiancée, Shauntea Weaver, who filed the lawsuit this week in opposition to Connors, Barry, Nebula, the NYPD and town.
Connors fled after the wreck, abandoning his injured 21-year-old passenger. Police stated the passenger tried to run however was caught 30 ft away.
Mayor Eric Adams even put up $1,000 of his personal cash to assist catch the suspect.
Connors, of Syosset, was nabbed the subsequent day on the Canadian border, limping, bloodied and with out ID. Customs brokers recognized him utilizing NYPD pictures that allegedly confirmed him bolting from the crash.
He was taken again to New York and indicted on charges together with second-degree homicide, manslaughter and leaving the scene of a deadly crash. He pleaded not responsible.
His lawyer Jonathan Perez beforehand advised The Put up that Connors is “sick, autistic, has epilepsy” and believes he was manipulated by another person within the automotive.
Connors has been held with out bail since his arraignment, the Manhattan District Legal professional's workplace stated.
Walker, a Manhattan father of three and rental-car-business proprietor, was set to marry Weaver in a lavish New Jersey ceremony.
“Kirk was taken from me simply as we had been beginning our new life collectively,” Weaver stated in an announcement launched by means of her attorneys to The Put up. “He was the love of my life … We've been left attempting to choose up the items of our lives and are available to phrases with a future with out him in it. Our lives won't ever be the identical.”
Weaver, now the administrator of Walker's property, argued in courtroom papers that Barry acted as a cop — not a civilian — making town and NYPD answerable for the unauthorized chase, which she contends isn't lined by emergency-response legal guidelines.
Nebula additionally violated the state's Dram Store Act, which permits victims to sue bars that serve alcohol to underage or visibly intoxicated patrons who later trigger hurt, Weaver stated within the authorized submitting.
Weaver is searching for unspecified damages for wrongful loss of life, acutely aware ache and struggling, negligence, emotional and psychological loss, funeral bills and punitive damages.
The NYPD and Nebula didn't instantly reply to requests for remark. A spokesperson for the Mayor's Workplace referred inquiries to the NYPD.
Connors and Barry couldn't be reached for remark.
