Driver of drug-filled stolen car in NYC double-fatal already faced charges from earlier crash: cops, records
The suspect, identified by sources as Autumn Donna Ascencio Romero, was charged with leaving the scene of an accident and driving without a license in the April 13 Brooklyn crash, which reportedly left a 22-year-old pedestrian with injuries including to her face and neck.
Romero was nabbed in that crash the next day with the help of a witness, the Daily News said — only to be dumped right back on the street after her arraignment thanks to the state's bail-reform laws, court records show.
5 A stolen car slammed into two bystanders near the Manhattan Bridge on Saturday morning, killing both.
William Farrington
5 The driver of the stolen car in the fatal wreck was carried off by police after fleeing the scene and getting caught, cops said.
William Farrington
Then around 7:30 a.m. Saturday, Romero was behind the wheel of a booze- and drug-filled stolen blue Chevy Malibu when it plowed into a man on a bicycle and a 63-year-old woman on a bench at Bowery and Canal streets in Manhattan, killing both before slamming into an NYPD van, police said.
Romero and her alleged passenger, 22-year-old Kennedy LaCraft, fled the scene but were quickly nabbed nearby, cops said.
LaCraft was charged with criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of stolen property and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, an NYPD spokesman said.
Charges against Romero were pending, sources told The Post.
5 The speeding car plowed into two people and then into an empty NYPD van in Chinatown on Saturday morning.
William Farrington
5 Police said a man in his 30s on a bicycle and a 63-year-old woman sitting on a bench were both killed in the crash.
William Farrington
The Brooklyn DAs Office did not immediately respond to a Post request for information on the earlier incident, but records show Romero was arraigned and released April 14 with a court date for it Aug. 5.
In the Saturday morning crash, the car had been rented but not returned and thus been reported stolen, police said.
Cops said the car, which was supposed to be returned to Enterprise 17 days earlier, was packed with 'booze and drugs,' including pills, marijuana and a bottle of alcohol, police sources said.
Police did not identify the man killed on his bike, but the other fatal victim was ID'd by her brother as Mary Kwok, 63.
Her sibling, Peter Kwok, told The Post his sister was sitting on a bench when she was struck and killed.
5 The driver of the car, identified as Autumn Donna Ascencio Romero, already had a pending case involving a crash.
William Farrington
'That's her hangout spot,' he said. 'She goes to church in Chinatown.'
He said his sister struggled with mental illness in recent years and would sometimes leave the home in the wee hours.
'I had thought about the scenario, you know, what could happen to her,' Peter said. 'You know, in the city anything can happen like that.'
Additional reporting by Marie Pohl
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If you're willing to give up your teenage years and your early twenties, which he has done, you're going to want to then be repaid for it in terms of results and finances. 'Although I'm very impressed with him as a man, his progression as a fighter does not surprise me because I know how hard he works. I know what he's capable of. He is a [Lionel] Messi, he is a LeBron [James], he is a [Michael] Phelps, he is a Tiger Woods. He is a once-in-a-generation talent who will be a cultural sporting icon, worldwide. There's no doubt in my mind.' While that is big talk, and unnervingly premature, Warren is not the first to go there. Many, in fact, have watched Itauma in the ring of late and come away feeling as though they have seen something different, something new, something hard to describe. 'He's all about angles and timing and doing stuff out of the box,' Warren explained. 'Against Balogun he was throwing heavy shots while going backwards and not many guys can do that, especially at heavyweight. He's a southpaw as well, which is not totally unusual but adds another dimension to his game. He's a right-handed southpaw, too, which allows him to control his opponent with that lead right hand and be accurate with it. He always wants to learn and has a knack of executing what he is told to do. It's scary stuff. 'I grew up watching Naz [Naseem Hamed] and it reminds me a bit of those times. They're not similar stylistically, but in terms of how they are doing things you have never seen before, and winning fights with ease, there are certain similarities.' It was at that point Warren heard and then checked himself. He remembered that he is Itauma's manager, not his promoter or cheerleader. He must therefore manage. He must manage not only Itauma's career, but expectations — his own, ours, Itauma's. 'But also,' he said, 'let's not get too carried away. His best result is against Demsey [McKean] and, no disrespect to Demsey, but his best opponent prior to that was [Filip] Hrgovic. Naz would have tough fights and then do something incredible to make them look easy and I think that's what you're going to get with Moses. But time will tell, as always.' If in the future there is to be an unravelling, the cause of it will not be a lack of meat or even talent. It will instead be due more to a lack of patience, one suspects. After all, it is much easier to run out of that than either food or ideas and the speed with which Itauma currently eats serves only to encourage some to get ahead of themselves. Just last month, for instance, no sooner had Oleksandr Usyk beaten Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium than Turki Alalshikh, the Saudi Arabian financier, was telling the world, via social media, that the man he wanted to see challenge Usyk next was Moses Itauma. Yes, that Moses Itauma — 20 years old and with just 12 professional fights to his name. Itauma was, it seemed, the man Alalshikh had in mind for Usyk and Alalshikh, historically, tends to get what he wants. In fact, for as much as those around Itauma profess to have everything under control, their control, they are ultimately beholden to Alalshikh and his whims, as are most in boxing today. 'Turki Alalshikh first mentioned the Usyk fight at the beginning of this year,' said Warren. 'He went on talkSPORT and said, 'I want to make Moses Itauma against Usyk.' I called Moses and said, 'Do me a favor, don't listen to talkSPORT this afternoon.' He then later commented back and said, 'Let's make the fight.' 'So it's not Moses saying 'no' to anything, or being hesitant. It's more because once you go through that gate it's really difficult to close it. If he goes and beats Usyk, what then? You've done it all before your 21st birthday. Look at Tyson [Fury]. He's been very open about it. He beat [Wladimir] Klitschko [in 2015] and was then like, 'So what? What now? I've done that. What's next?' 'I'm not suggesting Moses would go off the boil and not want to box anymore. But what's the ambition at that point? What keeps him going back to the gym? All you're doing then is waiting for the next guy to come through. And if it doesn't go right, and Usyk has the night of his life and Moses isn't experienced enough, you've made a huge mistake unnecessarily.' That Itauma expressed an interest in accepting Alalshikh's offer to fight Usyk comes as no surprise. He is, after all, a fighter. Fighters, even if concerned, will seldom project their concern for fear of it being construed as a weakness or character flaw. Moreover, with Itauma, you are dealing with a man whose goal from the very outset was to win a world heavyweight title quicker than Mike Tyson, who won a WBC heavyweight belt after just 20 years, four months, and 22 days. Itauma failed in that mission — he turns 21 in December — but that doesn't mean he has forgotten his promise, nor that he is willing to slow down or relax. It's for that reason he has people like Warren. Francis Warren. Frank Warren. George Warren. All the Warrens. In the past it would have been easier to believe the Warrens' hardline approach and be more confident of Itauma being moved at the right pace. Yet, for better or worse, things are different now; times have changed. Whereas in the past there was far greater room for patience and planning in boxing, the more immediate nature of things today casts doubt on the fantasy of a fighter taking their time or being given dispensation. In the case of Itauma, one wonders whether there is even enough of a demand and scene in Great Britain these days for him to build his career the careful, old-fashioned way. With ticket-sellers a dying breed, and with so much work being outsourced to the Middle East, there is now a dearth of mid-level, arena-sized events taking place in the UK and that, both today and in the future, is an issue. Indeed, it would have been on those kinds of shows that a prospect like Itauma would have cut his teeth, built a fan base, and worked his way up the heavyweight rankings, one spot at a time. Instead, we now have a sport of extremes. In Britain alone, you have either huge stadium fights or minor shows mostly ignored by the general public. For anyone in between — that is, any potential headliners and ticket-sellers — Riyadh calls. Even Itauma, with his career in its infancy, will have boxed four of his last seven fights in Saudi Arabia by the time Saturday's fight against Whyte is finished. No doubt it has done wonders for his bank balance, of course, but some of those fights in the Middle East would arguably have been better placed in the UK, where for now only the hardcore boxing fans are aware of Itauma's presence and ability. Not only that, one struggles to fathom how a fighter like Itauma, 12-0 (10 KOs), can continue getting invited back to Riyadh and not be at the mercy of the man who invites him there: Turki Alalshikh. In other words, for as nice as it is to be welcomed and wooed, surely at some point Alalshikh gets what he wants and tells Itauma exactly what he wants him to do and when he wants him to do it. 'We're not going to be shouting out the window for fights that will be there for us in 12 months,' said a defiant Warren. 'He's in a great position. One of the main reasons for that is getting him on the title trail in only his ninth fight. That [a WBO intercontinental heavyweight belt] got him in the WBO rankings and now things are starting to open up and he's well positioned. He's [ranked] three with the WBA, nine with the WBC, and he's four or five with the IBF. He's in a position to take an opportunity if the money is right and if the timing is right. But he's also in a great position to continue working his way up the rankings and then take his pick when the belts become fragmented if and when Usyk retires. That could potentially be where we end up in 12 months.' There is, for Moses Itauma, no need to get desperate before he has even turned 21. The same goes for the men looking after him, each of them doing all they can to keep him well fed and contained and ensure the world gets to know about him only when the time is right. Until then, they must protect him to some extent but also let him be true to his nature. For while it is accepted that some animals need confinement and must be controlled, there are others born to be free, unleashed. The trick is to know the difference.
