Pair in stolen car that killed two in horrific NYC crash had illegal gun stashed in trunk: prosecutors
Manhattan prosecutors said the reckless pair now charged in the horrific Saturday morning wreck had a gun stashed in the trunk of the stolen blue Chevy Malibu when it slammed into the victims and struck an NYPD van in a shocking caught-on-video tragedy.
Accused driver Autumn Donna Ascencio Romero, 23, and 22-year-old passenger, Kennedy Lecraft, allegedly fled the scene of the horror but were nabbed by cops nearby.
4 A stolen Chevy Malibu plowed over two bystanders and struck an NYPD in a Saturday morning wreck in Chinatown.
Obtained by the NY Post
4 Autumn Donna Ascencio Romero, 23, left, and Kennedy Lecraft, 22, are charged in a fatal wreck in Chinatown.
William Farrington, Michael Nagle
Romero, who was awaiting arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court on Monday, was charged with murder, manslaughter, possession of stolen property and gun possession after prosecutors said cops found a gun and ammunition in the stolen vehicle after the fatal crash.
Lecraft was arraigned earlier on Monday on charges of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, criminal possession of stolen property and criminal possession of a weapon.
Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Shamahs set bail for Lecraft at $150,000 cash or a $300,000 bond.
4 Kennedy Lecraft, 22, was charged with gun possession in the Saturday morning fatal crash in Chinatown.
Michael Nagle
4 The early morning Chinatown crash Saturday killed May Kwok, 63, and Kevin Scott Cruickshank, 63.
William Farrington
Records show that Romero already had another pending criminal case tied to a traffic mishap in Brooklyn in April that left a 22-year-old woman seriously injured, but was free without bail.
In the deadly Saturday morning incident, the Chevy had been rented last month but was overdue at an Enterprise Rent-a-Car lot by 17 days, law enforcement sources said.
The car was filled with drugs and booze, according to sources.
Cruickshank, who was riding his bicycle when he was struck and killed, was a safe-streets advocate who was active with Transportation Alternatives, a family spokesperson said.
Kwok's brother told The Post his sister had struggled with mental illness in the past and was fond of relaxing on the same bench when she attended church in Chinatown.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
Trump says SCOTUS immunity ruling likely helps Obama in light of Gabbard, DNI findings
President Donald Trump said Friday that former President Barack Obama "owes me big" following the Supreme Court's presidential immunity ruling. Trump on Tuesday claimed that Obama was the "ringleader" of Russiagate, calling for him to be criminally investigated amid new claims that members of his administration allegedly "manufactured" intelligence that prompted the Trump–Russia collusion narrative. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
The Hill
3 hours ago
- The Hill
Live updates: DOJ set for second interview with Ghislaine Maxwell; Trump travels to Scotland
President Trump is departing Washington on Friday for a weekend trip to Scotland as furor over the Jeffrey Epstein case continues to grip the political world. The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday is set to interview longtime Epstein associate and accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell for a second day. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche interviewed Maxwell for roughly five hours Thursday and said the DOJ 'will share additional information about what we learned at the appropriate time.' Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence in Florida following a conviction on sex-trafficking charges, has signaled a willingless to speak with the administration as her legal team appeals her conviction to the Supreme Court. The DOJ has contested her appeal. Maxwell's attorney David Oscar Markus said his client answered every question during her Thursday interview with Blanche at a Tallahassee courthouse and expressed gratitude to the federal government for trying to 'uncover the truth.' Trump in a social media post late Thursday slammed what he characterized as 'the Jeffrey Epstein SCAM' as he seeks to turn the page on the saga, with Republicans ramping up their scrutiny of the Obama administration and the president criticizing renovations at the Federal Reserve during a visit alongside Chair Jerome Powell. The president is expected to face some local protests when he visits Scotland this weekend, with demonstrators seeking to disrupt his trip. He plans to visit his two Scottish golf resorts on the trip to his mother's homeland.
Newsweek
4 hours ago
- Newsweek
Supreme Court's Peacemaker Speaks Out—'Scary Stuff'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan has spoken out about the spike in threats against judges, calling it "scary stuff." Judges "just need to do what they are obligated to do, which is to do law in the best way they know how to do, make independent, reasoned judgments based on precedent, based on other law, to not be inhibited by any of these threats," Kagan said at a judiciary conference on Thursday, according to The Washington Post. Newsweek contacted Kagan for further comment via an email to a Supreme Court spokesperson. Associate Justice Elena Kagan stands during a group photo of the Justices at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on April 23, 2021. Associate Justice Elena Kagan stands during a group photo of the Justices at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on April 23, 2021. Erin Schaff/Pool-Getty Images Why It Matters Threats against judges are on the rise, at a time when President Donald Trump and his allies have railed against judges who have blocked parts of Trump's agenda, including calling for some to be impeached. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts in March issued a rare statement rejecting calls for impeaching judges. The U.S. Marshals Service investigated threats against 197 judges between March and late May this year—more than double the number of judges threatened in the previous five months, The Washington Post has reported. What To Know Kagan also said that the willingness of some to flout judicial rulings "is just not the way the system works." She said not specifically mention Trump, but said the biggest offenders were government officials, the Post reported. Kagan, who is part of the court's liberal wing, joined her liberal colleagues in criticizing the court's emergency rulings in favor of the Trump administration. But in several cases on the court's regular docket, she sided with the court's more conservative justices. She was in the majority in 83 percent of all cases—the fourth most frequently of the nine justices—and in 70 percent of nonunanimous cases in the 2024-25 term, according to SCOTUSblog's Stat Pack. "I think she tries to find common ground when she can," constitutional law professor Harold Krent said about Kagan on a recent episode of the Bloomberg Law podcast. "I think it is perhaps a positive institutional development, as she is, at least in my view, in some of her decisions, trying to, you know, establish that there is common ground amongst the so-called conservative and so-called liberal justices." What People Are Saying Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said, in part, during a judges' conference in Puerto Rico in May: "The attacks are not random. They seem designed to intimidate those of us who serve in this critical capacity." She added: "The threats and harassment are attacks on our democracy, on our system of government. And they ultimately risk undermining our Constitution and the rule of law." Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts warned last month that words from elected officials could lead to threats or acts of violence from others, saying: "It becomes wrapped up in the political dispute that a judge who's doing his or her job is part of the problem. And the danger, of course, is somebody might pick up on that. And we have had, of course, serious threats of violence and murder of judges just simply for doing their work. So I think the political people on both sides of the aisle need to keep that in mind." Trump said during a speech at a Michigan rally marking his first 100 days on office: "We cannot allow a handful of communist radical left judges to obstruct the enforcement of our laws and assume the duties that belong solely to the president of the United States. Judges are trying to take away the power given to the president to keep our country safe and it's not a good thing." What's Next Law enforcement continues to track and respond to threats against judges.
