Teen indicted after wrong-way Henry Hudson crash killed two men
City crash records list two motorists killed and four injured on the Henry Hudson Parkway; prosecutors charged Jimmy Connors after saying he drove the wrong way and hit Kirk Walker’s Dodge.
What We Know
The crash happened early Aug. 24, 2024, on the Henry Hudson Parkway in Upper Manhattan. City records list two motorists killed and four injured, with improper passing or lane use recorded as a contributing factor. Police and prosecutors later said Jimmy Connors, 17, drove a Chevrolet pickup the wrong way in the northbound lanes and hit a Dodge Challenger driven by Kirk Walker, 38, whose passenger was Robert McLaurin, 40. Both men died at hospitals. Prosecutors said Connors fled after the pickup burned; he was later indicted on charges including second-degree murder, manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and leaving the scene.
Police described a wrong-way crash in the northbound lanes
The official crash record places the crash at 2:25 a.m. on Aug. 24, 2024, on the Henry Hudson Parkway and lists two motorists killed and four injured. The record lists a pickup truck, a Dodge sedan, an Audi sedan and a Toyota SUV, with improper passing or lane use recorded as a contributing factor.
Police later said a driver in a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado was traveling south in the northbound lanes near West 165th Street and hit a northbound Dodge Challenger driven by Kirk Walker. Police said the pickup driver also hit an Audi, and Gothamist reported that police said he had been fleeing another crash while a Toyota RAV4 driver was chasing him.
Kirk Walker and Robert McLaurin died at hospitals
Later police and prosecutor accounts identified the Dodge driver as Kirk Walker, 38, of Manhattan, and his passenger as Robert McLaurin, 40, of North Carolina. Both men were pronounced dead at local hospitals.
Press accounts said Walker was set to be married the next day and had been celebrating his bachelor party. AMNY reported that Mayor Eric Adams spoke with Walker’s family and pledged $1,000 of his own money as a reward for information that could help find the driver.
Early reports differed on some details
Initial press reports gave conflicting ages and roles for the two men in the Dodge. Later police and prosecutor accounts consistently identified Walker, 38, as the driver and McLaurin, 40, as the passenger.
Where
Henry Hudson Pkwy