The NYPD is asking for the public’s help in finding the driver of a car who remains on the lam following a fatal wrong-way collision on the Henry Hudson Parkway last week.
Two people died in the horrifying incident, which occurred on Saturday, Aug. 24, at approximately 2:21 a.m. on the Henry Hudson Parkway and W. 165 St. in upper Manhattan.
According to law enforcement sources, a 31-year-old man driving a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado and a driver of a 2019 Toyota Rav4 were heading southbound in the parkway’s northbound lanes.
As the vehicles proceeded, the Chevy struck two cars: a 2021 Dodge Challenger, driven by a 38-year-old man and a 2018 Audi S3, operated by a 27-year-old man. Both drivers were heading northbound on the parkway.
The impact from the collisions was so severe, debris from the Chevy struck the passenger side of the Toyota. Everyone in the Chevy, which was the driver and a 21-year-old man, got out right before the vehicle became engulfed in flames.
EMS and officers from the 33rd Precinct responded to a 911 call about the incident. Medics rushed Kirk Walker, the driver of the Dodge Challenger to New York Columbia Presbyterian Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Walker’s cousin, 40-year-0ld Robert McLaurin, was a passenger in the car. He, too, was pronounced dead at NYC Health and Hospitals/Harlem.
The driver of the Audi, along with a passenger, were brought to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in stable condition. A passenger in the Chevy was brought to a hospital, also in stable condition.
But the driver of the Chevy fled the location and remains at large.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams put up $1,000 of his own money this week as a reward for information that could help find the wrong-way driver.
No arrests have been made so far, but the NYPD Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad continues to investigate.
Anyone with information regarding the incident or the driver’s whereabouts can call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (for Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA). You can also submit tips online at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X (formerly Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
