Who is Autumn Donna Ascencio Romero? Chilling details revealed in NYC crash that killed 2 as driver is held without bail
Also Read: San Antonio crash: 4 dead, 18 injured in fatal highway crash, armed suspect on the loose
Who Autumn Donna Ascencio Romero and is she involved in any other case?
Prosecutors say Romero admitted she had 'a few drinks' before the crash and was driving the car. She refused to take a breathalyzer or blood test at the hospital but acknowledged being the driver. Police say they found an open tequila bottle and a cup of alcohol in the car. Two loaded pistols and a box of ammunition were also discovered in a box in the trunk.
Romero and 22-year-old Kennedy Lecraft, allegedly attempted to escape on foot after the crash. Witnesses reported seeing the two exit the mangled vehicle and sit mere feet away from one of the victims' bodies, before attempting to hail a cab. Witnesses stopped the pair and held them in the area until cops arrived.
Lecraft, who rented the Malibu from Enterprise and did not return the vehicle, will face charges of criminal possession of a weapon, possession of stolen property, and unauthorized use of a vehicle. She was arraigned on Monday and is being held at Rikers on bail of $300,000.
Romero appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court on Tuesday. Prosecutors noted she was already facing charges in Brooklyn for a separate hit-and-run incident in April, where she allegedly hit a woman exiting an Uber without a valid license.
Romero's lawyer, Howard Greenberg, said she is a nursing student and blamed the crash on Lecraft. He claimed Lecraft may have grabbed the steering wheel before impact and even apologized afterward, saying she caused the crash.
Judge Michelle Weber ordered Romero held without bail. She is due back in court Thursday.
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Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Who is Autumn Donna Ascencio Romero? Chilling details revealed in NYC crash that killed 2 as driver is held without bail
New details are emerging about Autumn Donna Ascencio Romero, the 23-year-old woman accused of killing two people in a high-speed crash near the Manhattan Bridge in Chinatown, according to Daily News report. Romero is charged with two counts of murder and several other felonies after police say she was behind the wheel of a stolen Chevy Malibu that slammed into 63-year-old May Kwok and 55-year-old bicyclist Kevin Cruickshank early Saturday morning. Romero is charged with two counts of murder and several other felonies after she was behind the wheel of a stolen Chevy Malibu that slammed into 63-year-old May Kwok and 55-year-old bicyclist Kevin Cruickshank.(Unspalsh) Also Read: San Antonio crash: 4 dead, 18 injured in fatal highway crash, armed suspect on the loose Who Autumn Donna Ascencio Romero and is she involved in any other case? Prosecutors say Romero admitted she had 'a few drinks' before the crash and was driving the car. She refused to take a breathalyzer or blood test at the hospital but acknowledged being the driver. Police say they found an open tequila bottle and a cup of alcohol in the car. Two loaded pistols and a box of ammunition were also discovered in a box in the trunk. Romero and 22-year-old Kennedy Lecraft, allegedly attempted to escape on foot after the crash. Witnesses reported seeing the two exit the mangled vehicle and sit mere feet away from one of the victims' bodies, before attempting to hail a cab. Witnesses stopped the pair and held them in the area until cops arrived. Lecraft, who rented the Malibu from Enterprise and did not return the vehicle, will face charges of criminal possession of a weapon, possession of stolen property, and unauthorized use of a vehicle. She was arraigned on Monday and is being held at Rikers on bail of $300,000. Romero appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court on Tuesday. Prosecutors noted she was already facing charges in Brooklyn for a separate hit-and-run incident in April, where she allegedly hit a woman exiting an Uber without a valid license. Romero's lawyer, Howard Greenberg, said she is a nursing student and blamed the crash on Lecraft. He claimed Lecraft may have grabbed the steering wheel before impact and even apologized afterward, saying she caused the crash. Judge Michelle Weber ordered Romero held without bail. She is due back in court Thursday.
Time of India
21-07-2025
- Time of India
US crash horror: Stolen car rams bench killing two in Chinatown; investigation underway
Two lives were tragically cut short on Saturday morning in Manhattan's Chinatown when a stolen car careered off the road and slammed into a cyclist and a woman on a bench. In a disturbing CCTV footage, a blue Chevy Malibu can be seen speeding through a traffic median at the intersection of Bowery and Canal Streets just after 7:30am. The car struck 55-year-old Kevin Scott Cruickshank, a Chase Bank loan manager and father, who was riding his bicycle, and 63-year-old May Kwok, who had been seated nearby. Kwok was thrown from sight in an instant, while Cruickshank, also a well-known local figure, appeared to be hit head-on. The Malibu, a rental vehicle that had been reported stolen, then crashed into an empty NYPD van moments later, according to the footage seen by the New York Post. The alleged driver, Autumn Donna Ascencio Romero, 23, and passenger Kennedy LaCraft, 22, fled the scene on foot but were apprehended nearby by police. Officers said that drugs and alcohol were discovered inside the car. Romero is already facing an unresolved case in Brooklyn involving a separate crash on 13 April in which a bystander was struck. Cruickshank's family issued a heartfelt statement confirming his death. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Young Woman (19) Lives in a Shed - Take a look inside Tips and Tricks Undo 'It is with a heavy heart that we confirm that dear friend, neighbor, loving son and husband Kevin Cruickshank has been killed,' the family's spokesperson told the New York Post. 'Kevin was a regular fixture in the neighborhood, known for his warm, welcoming spirit and love of helping his friends and neighbors." The spokeswoman added that Kevin had a deep love for cycling and was often spotted returning from long rides through the neighbourhood. 'It's heartbreaking to know he lost his life while doing something he truly enjoyed,' she said. May Kwok, the second victim, was remembered by her brother as a 'free spirit' who enjoyed walking around the neighbourhood and attending church. The investigation remains ongoing, as authorities piece together what led to the fatal collision.
NDTV
08-07-2025
- NDTV
Buenos Aires Man, 48, Tracked As 140th 'Stolen Grandchild' In Argentina
Argentina: Nearly five decades after he was born in a dictatorship-era detention center and snatched from his mother, a Buenos Aires man has become the 140th person identified as one of Argentina's hundreds of "stolen grandchildren." DNA tests confirmed the birth identity of the 48-year-old introduced by the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo activist group Monday simply as "Grandchild No. 140." The group has worked for decades to trace the whereabouts of young activist women who were arrested and "disappeared" by Argentina's 1976-1983 military dictatorship, and the now-adult babies they bore in captivity. Nearly 500 infants are believed to have been taken, many given to childless people close to a dictatorship keen to have them raised as regime loyalists. The identity of "Grandchild No. 140" was not revealed at a press conference held by the Grandmothers to announce the happy breakthrough. But among those present was his older sister, Adriana Metz Romero, who works with the Grandmothers and tearfully told reporters she could not wait to meet her sibling in person. "Now I know where my brother is!" she said, sitting with a black-and-white photo of their parents: Graciela Alicia Romero and Raul Eugenio Metz, left-wing activists snatched by authorities in December 1976. Romero was 24 years old, mother to a one-year-old daughter, and five months pregnant at the time, according to the Grandmothers. She gave birth to a son on April 17, 1977 while held at a clandestine detention center known as "La Escuelita" in the port city of Bahia Blanca. She was tortured there, according to witness testimony. Neither Romero nor Metz was heard from again. The Grandmothers said Romero's long-lost son was finally found thanks to an anonymous tip. "We decided to call him to find out if he would agree to a DNA test. He agreed, and it was confirmed that he is my brother," said Metz Romero, who has had initial contact with him via video call. She was herself raised by her grandparents. 'Right to identity' Founded in 1977, the Grandmothers group takes its name from the Plaza de Mayo square in Buenos Aires where women defied the dictatorship to hold protests demanding information on the whereabouts of their loved ones. Rights groups say about 30,000 people died or disappeared under the brutal rule, though Argentina's current libertarian President Javier Milei has claimed the number was lower. The Grandmothers have accused Milei of defunding their research in his quest to slash public spending. In June, the group went to court to demand protections for the National Genetic Data Bank -- which helped in this case but has been left largely "paralyzed" by budget cuts, according to the Grandmothers. Leader Estela de Carlotto, herself reunited with a lost grandson decades after her pregnant daughter disappeared, made another appeal for support Monday. "Thanks to perseverance and constant work... they (stolen grandchildren) will continue to appear, but the search cannot be done alone," she said at the "Space for Memory," a former torture center converted into a memorial site in the capital. "It was the state itself, through state terrorism, that facilitated the abduction of these children, so it must now facilitate the search for them," said the 94-year-old. "These 300 people who still need to be found are part of our society and must be able to exercise their right to identity," she added. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
