The driver accused of fatally striking and killing two people in Chinatown over the weekend was arraigned on murder charges Tuesday and denied bail after prosecutors revealed she was packing heat inside her vehicle.
Autumn Donna Ascencio Romero, 23, appeared before a judge in Lower Manhattan for arraignment on a slew of charges including murder, aggravated vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of a crime, manslaughter, criminal possession of a weapon, and more.
Police say Romero allegedly drove a blue Chevrolet Malibu over the Manhattan Bridge at around 7:30 a.m. on July 19, which mounted the sidewalk on Canal Street and Bowery and struck 63-year-old May Kwok and 55-year-old Kevin Scott Cruickshank; both lost their lives.
The vehicle only stopped after it crashed into an unoccupied NYPD van and flipped over.
During the July 22 hearing, prosecutors said that Romero and her passenger, 22-year-old Kennedy Lecraft, attempted to escape the scene of the crash by climbing out of the wreckage and making a run for it. Officers at the scene, however, collared both of them before they could get very far.
Inside Romero’s vehicle, cops allegedly found an open bottle of tequila on the passenger seat and two 9mm pistols along with ammunition in the trunk. Meanwhile, they also say the Malibu was an overdue rental car that had been due back at the rental agency on June 29.
Lecraft was charged with possession of stolen property and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. She was held on bail and is currently on Rikers Island.
Romero, meanwhile, was ordered held without bail Tuesday. Prosecutors argued that she was well aware of the loss of life but still attempted to flee.
