Tragedy struck in Manhattan on Saturday when a wrong-way crash claimed the life of Kirk Walker, a 38-year-old groom-to-be, just one day before his wedding. According to the New York Post, Mr Walker and his cousin, Rob McLaurin, 40, were celebrating his bachelor party when their car was hit head-on by a pickup truck travelling in the wrong direction. Both men were transported to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital where they were pronounced dead. According to authorities, the driver responsible for the wrong-way crash fled the scene on foot and has not yet been caught. Meanwhile, a passenger in the vehicle was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment of their injuries.
Mr Walker, a father of three, was eagerly anticipating his special day, but his heartbroken bride was instead left to face unimaginable grief on what should have been the happiest day of her life.
''I'm supposed to be in my wedding dress right now — not in mourning. I feel like this is a TV show and I'm going to wake up any minute and go back to my real life. Every hour since it happened, I'm having a different emotion take me over'', his fiancee Shauntea Weaver told The Post.
Notably, the couple was set to tie the knot in a huge ceremony at the Royal Manor wedding venue in Garfield, New Jersey.
''Our ceremony was supposed to be at 5:00 p.m. today — in a few hours. He died 24 hours before our wedding. It's devastating, and not just for me. He has three children who loved him immeasurably. They are heartbroken that their father's been taken. He was such a generous, hard-working man. He had a heart of gold and would do anything for anybody. Such a hard worker,'' Ms Weaver added.
The couple had built a thriving car rental business together, which had flourished under Mr Walker's dedication.
Ms Weaver's focus has now shifted to seeking justice for her fiance.
''They told me the driver left his DNA on the airbags. So they have that. Also, the passenger is in the hospital with broken legs and he needs to speak up. Two lives were lost in a reckless car crash,” she continued. They need to pay for killing two innocent people. Nothing will bring him back. But we are seeking justice,'' she said.
