A Buffalo man was sentenced Thursday to five years of probation after pleading guilty to leaving the scene of a collision that killed a pedestrian on the city’s West Side, the Erie County District Attorney’s Office said.
State Supreme Court Justice Paul B. Wojtaszek imposed the sentence Oct. 8 on 75-year-old Kaled Handal of Buffalo and revoked his New York State driver’s license as a condition of the probation, the office said.
The collision occurred April 10, 2026, at about 8:25 p.m. when Handal struck a pedestrian on Grant Street near the intersection of West Ferry Street and continued driving south on Grant Street without reporting the incident, prosecutors said. The victim, 58-year-old Luiman E. Velez, was taken to Buffalo General Hospital and died of his injuries on April 12, 2026.
Handal pleaded guilty to a single count of Leaving the Scene of an Incident Resulting in Death, a class D felony under New York State Vehicle & Traffic Law. The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Christine O. Murray of the Vehicular Crimes Bureau.
District Attorney Michael J. Keane commended Officer Corey Krug and the Buffalo Police Department Accident Investigation Unit for their work on the investigation, according to the district attorney’s office.
The information in this article is based on a news release from the Erie County District Attorney’s Office.
