BUFFALO, N.Y. — Erie County District Attorney John Flynn announced that 37-year-old Kevin Mendola of Buffalo was arraigned Friday morning in Cheektowaga Town Court on one count of leaving the scene of an incident resulting in death and another count of criminally negligent homicide.
Mendola is accused of hitting a 10-year-old boy with his vehicle on Wednesday. The boy was taken to Oishei Children’s Hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
The crash happened shortly before 5 p.m. on Lovejoy Street near Griffith Park.
The district attorney told reporters Mendola got into his truck to get out of the way of traffic that had built up in that area. When he put his vehicle into reverse, he hit the child who was standing nearby.
Flynn said the defendant then pulled forward, running over the 10-year-old a second time.
"He then apparently got out of his truck, went to assist the child ... and after he tried to assist the child, he then allegedly got back into his truck and drove away, and he was then caught about a mile away by the Cheektowaga Police and apprehended," Flynn said.
Mendola is scheduled to return to court on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. for a felony hearing. Bail is set at $50,000.
An investigation is underway, and the Cheektowaga Police Department's Accident Investigation Unit is said to be in contact with the Erie County District Attorney’s office.
Police say the boy's name is not being released at this time.
Anyone who may have witnessed the incident, or anyone who has seen any video if the incident, is asked to call the Cheektowaga Police at (716) 686-3580.