Driver charged with murder after car jumps curb in Queens, leaving 1 dead, 2 injured

LAURELTON (WABC) -- A man has been charged with murder after police say his car jumped a curb in Queens Saturday night and plowed into several people, leaving one man dead and two women critically injured.

Witnesses on the scene say the crash may have not been an accident, and they say the driver, identified as Kevin Weekes, tried to take off.

The incident happened around 8:30 on Merrick Boulevard and 225th Street in Laurelton.

Witnesses say a fight broke out on the street before the car jumped a curb striking a group of three, including a pregnant woman.

The incident happened near a banquet hall where a baby shower had been taking place, and the women may have been attending the shower, according to witnesses.

Police and EMS arrived on the scene where they discovered a man pinned underneath the vehicle. The man, identified as 20-year old Kevin Lewis of Queens, was pronounced dead, while the other two victims, ages 19 and 21, were taken to the hospital in critical condition.

"He was such an awesome kid - awesome," said Lewis' friend, Sherry Ford, "he was his grandmother's arms and legs, right hand - just too traumatic."

Friends and family stopped by the Lewis home all day Sunday, where he lived with his mother and his grandmother.

"He was more than a grandson, he was the kid who took care of the house, did everything for his grandmother," Ford adds.

Witnesses say Lewis had just walked out of the banquet hall around 8:30 Saturday night, when the driver of of a Nissan Altima barreled into the crowd. Witnesses say just moments before, there had been a separate fight with a stabbing that Kevin was not involved in.

The 20-year-old male driver, identified as who was behind the wheel of the 2012 Nissan Altima was taken into custody. He was charged with murder, 3 counts of assault, and 3 counts of reckless endangerment.

Witnesses say Lewis was dragged under the car for quite a distance, and said that after the crash a large crowd of people went after the car and tried to pull the driver out.

Two other women, ages 19 and 21 were critically hurt. One of the victims is pregnant.

Lewis worked at Toys R Us and went to school at Queensborough Community College. His friends say none of this makes sense.

"When I put all of this together, it was a numbing feeling," says Lewis' friend, Donte Cunningham, "I wasn't in tears, it was numbing."