Family demands safety action after driver of out-of-control stolen car kills 2 near Manhattan Bridge
CHINATOWN, Manhattan (WABC) -- A vigil was held on Monday at the spot where two innocent people lost their lives after the driver of an out-of-control stolen vehicle torpedoed into them in Chinatown.
Distraught friends and heartbroken family members came together to show support and demand action for more safety measures.
"One Christmas Santa brought my brother and I matching bicycles. Winter did not stop Kevin. He was out the door riding his bike in the snow. His love of riding a bike followed him throughout his life. Last Saturday morning Kevin set out on his yellow taxi cab bike for a ride to Coney Island. His trip was cut short at an intersection known to some to be very dangerous," said Sarah Witt, the victim's sister.
With her voice trembling and heart shattered, Kevin Cruickshank's sister wonders if her brother's death is enough to force change.
"Twelve people have died at this intersection," Witt said.
The 55-year-old had just set off for a bike ride home on Morningside Drive when police said a stolen rental car came barreling off the Manhattan Bridge at Canal and Bowery in Chinatown.
The 23-year-old driver lost control, jumped the curb and slammed into Cruickshank and 63-year-old May Kwok, who was sitting on a bench, killing them both.
The vehicle then collided with an unoccupied police van, obliterating its back half.
Police said two women inside the vehicle tried to take off but were arrested nearby.
The driver, Autumn Donna Ascencio Romero, was charged Monday with murder, manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, aggravated vehicular homicide, criminal possession of a weapon, leaving the scene of an accident and criminal possession of stolen property.
Passenger Kennedy Lecraft, 22, was charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of stolen property and unauthorized use of a vehicle.
Investigators found drugs, an open bottle of tequila in the front of the car and two semi-automatic weapons in the trunk.
On Wednesday, Cruickshank's loved ones gathered at a vigil hoping to turn tragedy into purpose.
"This is a known problem. That would drive Kevin absolutely insane and he would get right to work," said Kevin O'Connor, a friend of the victim.
Advocates are calling for concrete barriers or bollards to be added to that side of the street where the two were killed.
"We are outraged. Every single one of us should be outraged because this is what brought us together," Elizabeth Adams with Families For Safe Streets said.
The Department of Transportation, in the meantime, is studying the intersection for safety upgrades and plans to update the community in the fall.
A DOT spokesperson said, "This driver should not have been on our streets and, as we work to develop safety improvements along Canal, we will continue our advocacy at the state level for legislation to address the most dangerous recidivist drivers who pose an outsized risk to all New Yorkers."
Cruickshank's friends say he was a true New Yorker who would've wanted to fix what advocates say has become a real problem.
"Unlike many of us who have an ongoing love-hate relationship with this city, Kevin just loved it. We would refer to everything west of the Hudson as America. And whenever we rode through a small town out in America, Kevin would look around and say 'what do people even do here?" said friend, Ryan Gentile.
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