Wrong-way driver accident on Hudson Parkway: Kirk Walker's bride asks for help in finding the driver who fled the scene of the accident

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, Manhattan (WABC) — New York Mayor Eric Adams is offering a reward for the capture of the wrong-way driver responsible for an accident on the Henry Hudson Parkway that killed a groom and his cousin the day before the wedding.

On Tuesday, Mayor Adams described the fatal accident as a Shakespearean tragedy after speaking with the victim's family.

One of the victims was a groom who wanted to get married surrounded by his loving family. The other was his cousin. The driver who killed them fled after the accident.

“I had to witness the tragedy,” said Khadija Walker, the sister and cousin of the crash victims.

Walker lost both her brother and her cousin on Saturday morning and was just a few cars behind hers when it was struck by a pickup truck heading the wrong way.

“You don't know what each of us felt that night when we all had to lift my cousin's body and carry him away from the burning car,” Walker said.

She could feel the heat of the flames as she performed CPR on her cousin Todd McLaurin.

“Huge black smoke and traffic comes to a standstill. And you don't understand why,” she said. “And you're walking on glass and doors and airbags and oil, you're slipping because you can hardly reach them because there's so much oil on the ground.”

Kirk Walker's bride, Shauntea Weaver, despite her broken heart, finds the strength to ask anyone who knows something to speak up.

“I want them to understand that they destroyed two lives through reckless stupidity,” she said. “And then to flee the scene after doing something like that is just inhumane.”

On Tuesday she received a reassuring message from the town hall.

“We will find the person involved,” said Mayor Adams. “I am asking New Yorkers if they have any information that could lead to the arrest of this individual who apparently fled the scene. I will raise $1,000 from my personal funds to demand the arrest and conviction of this individual.”

The families held a vigil over the weekend and are now planning a funeral instead of the joyous wedding they had planned last year.

Given the dresses and tuxedos the couple will never wear to the celebration, the support of her fiancé's friends and colleagues was a comfort, Weaver says.

“They call me and text me and say how much Kirk impacted them, how sad they are and how much they just want to help,” Weaver said.

The best help the families can hope for is a small closure.

“If you know anything, if you saw anything while we were on the highway, while you were in traffic on the other side, just speak up,” Walker said.

“If you know something, please say so,” Weaver said.

The passenger of the pickup truck that caused the horrific accident has been arrested, but the driver is still at large. The NYPD would like to hear from you if you know who or where this person is.

A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to support the families of the victims.

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