Autumn Donna Ascencio Romero, Chinatown hit and run driver who killed two bystanders, arraigned in Manhattan on a slew of charges along with her female passenger, Kennedy LeCraft, who she now blames for causing fatal crash. Both women had been drinking prior, with the driver involved in a previous hit and run just months earlier (where she was released).Â
A hit and run driver accused of causing a crash in Chinatown in Manhattan over the weekend, killing two bystanders along with her passenger tried to flee the scene in a cab while leaving behind an open bottle of tequila and two 9mm guns prosecutors said during the two womens’ arraignment.
Autumn Donna Ascencio Romero, 23, appearing at a Manhattan Criminal court on Tuesday, faced an assortment of charges, including murder, aggravated vehicular homicide, manslaughter, criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of stolen property, and leaving the scene according to NYC prosecutors.
Two women, aged 23 and 22, were arrested after speeding in a stolen blue Chevy Malibu across the Manhattan Bridge, killing a 63-year-old woman on a bench and a man on a bicycle. The car, containing pills, marijuana, and alcohol.😳💔
— Rain Drops Media (@Raindropsmedia1) July 21, 2025
Chinatown hit and run driver & female passenger tried to hail cab to flee scene
Police say Romero was behind the wheel of a blue Chevrolet Malibu on Saturday at around 7:30 a.m. when it drove over the Manhattan Bridge at a high rate of speed and struck cycling enthusiast Kevin Scott Cruickshank, 55, and Chase bank manager, May Kwok, 63. Both were killed, Eyewitness News reported.
Captured surveillance video of the Saturday morning crash shows Cruickshank riding his bike just moments before he and Kwok were brutally by the speeding vehicle.
Along with plowing into the two victims, the speeding car also hit an empty NYPD van, before flipping onto its passenger side and coming to rest back upright near Canal Street and Bowery, according to authorities.Â
Prosecutors claim the passenger in the Malibu, Kennedy LeCraft, and Romero, both bloodied, climbed out of the car. The two then allegedly tried to leave the scene, heading north on Broadway, including trying to hail a cab. Witnesses stopped the pair and held them until cops arrived and arrested the pair, CBS News reported.
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 recovered an open bottle of tequila in the passenger seat, and two 9mm pistols and ammo from the trunk of the car.Â
Police say the Malibu was a car rental hire that was supposed to be returned June 29, but wasn’t.Â
Chinatown hit and run driver was involved in April hit and run
Ascencio Romero’s lawyer, Howard Greenberg, has since claimed that LeCraft, 22, — tried to grab the wheel while ‘drunk and stoned out of her mind,’ moments before the crash, causing the driver to inadvertently ‘press down on the pedal.’
LeCraft, who was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and unauthorized use of a stolen vehicle and was ordered held on $150,000 cash bail or a $300,000 bond.
Of note, Romero was already facing charges in Brooklyn for a separate hit-and-run incident on April 13, where she allegedly hit a woman exiting an Uber without a valid license the nypost reported.
The woman sustained a broken nose, a broken collarbone and missing teeth, prosecutors said. Ascencio Romero was released awaiting trial, court records show.
Following Romero’s arraignment on Monday, the 23 year old was denied bail and will remain jailed. A grand jury will convene Thursday.
Crukshank’s family was too upset to speak but shared that he was known for his warm, welcoming spirit and love for helping friends and neighbors.
