A 17-year-old teenager was indicted in Manhattan Wednesday for a hit-and-run crash on the Henry Hudson Parkway in August that killed two cousins, just a day before one of them was to be married.
Jimmy Connors, of Syosset, is charged with two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of manslaughter, two counts of criminally negligent homicide, and three counts of leaving the scene of an accident.
Prosecutors say Connors was driving a Chevy pickup truck the wrong way in the northbound lane of the Henry Hudson Parkway at about 2:30 a.m. on Aug. 24 when he slammed into the Dodge Challenger being driven by Kirk Walker, who was with his cousin Robert McLaurin celebrating his bachelor party the night before he was to be married.
Connors’ truck also ricocheted into an Audi before it burst into flames. The teen allegedly jumped over the center median into the southbound lane and fled into the nearby woods.
Both Walker and McLaurin were pronounced dead at local hospitals.
“This incident is a horrific tragedy, and my heartfelt thoughts are with the loved ones of Mr. Walker and Mr. McLaurin,” said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. “Mr. Walker was set to get married the next day and these families should have been celebrating that joyous occasion.”
The following day, Connors was detained at the Canadian border after appearing to border patrol agents with a bruised-up face, bloody shirt, and a limp walk, prosecutors say. He was arrested in Manhattan on Sept. 13, records show.
Connors will be tried as an adult in the case, a judge ruled on Wednesday, and is being held on remand in city custody.
If you witnessed a truck driving the wrong way on the Henry Hudson Parkway on the morning of Aug. 24, 2024, call the Manhattan DA’s office at 212-335-9040.
