WEST SENECA, NY (WIVB) — Police records obtained by News 4 Investigates state the off-duty Cheektowaga officer who fatally struck a young man walking home on Dec. 18 told investigators he turned to the back seat of his truck to check on his whimpering dog moments before the crash and had no time to react around five in front his truck.
“He pulled over and realized it was a person in the street that he had hit,” according to the incident report. The crash happened around 9:30 pm on Clinton Street in West Seneca.
Police records obtained through a Freedom of Information law request state the 27-year-old Cheektowaga officer instructed a bystander to call 911, while rendering aid to 16-year-old Paul Alvarez.
News 4 is not naming the officer because he has not been charged with a crime.
The off-duty officer submitted to drug and sobriety tests, including a breath test that showed no alcohol, according to police reports.
The accident report states that a Cheektowaga police lieutenant was present at the scene of the crash. He later accompanied a detective in the West Seneca Police Department to the deposition of the off-duty Cheetowaga officer. In addition, the state Attorney General’s Office, which is investigating the incident, sent a detective to the scene.
According to police records, an Erie County assistant district attorney concluded, based on the evidence available at the time, that criminal charges were not warranted. The investigation by the state Attorney General’s Office is still active.
The off-duty Cheektowaga returned home with family members and Lieutenant Cheektowaga on duty.
West Seneca police interviewed at least eight witnesses, whose accounts differed on where Alvarez was walking before the black 2016 Chevrolet Silverado struck him, according to the incident report.
One witness said she saw Alvarez “walking in the middle of the westbound lane and observed the truck hit him.”
“She stated that it was difficult to see the pedestrian, and it appeared that they were walking in the traffic lane,” one witness told police, according to the police report. “The pedestrian was wearing all dark clothing and described the road as dark in that area.”
Investigators noted in the police report that the point of impact was approximately halfway between the two nearest street lamps, in what police described as “the darkest area of the road”.
A second witness told investigators he was driving east on Clinton Street when he observed a pedestrian in the westbound lane of traffic before the crash.
A third witness said he was driving westbound on Clinton Street when he saw a pedestrian in all dark clothing walking eastbound in the westbound lane of traffic, and had to swerve to avoid a collision.
The fourth witness said that she was driving in the same direction when she observed a pedestrian “walking along the fog line on the north side of the road,” and she also turned to avoid hitting the person.
A fifth witness said she noticed a person in dark clothing walking east on the north side of Clinton Street along the white fog line. She also told investigators she had to turn around to avoid hitting the person, according to the police report.
Investigators reviewed video that showed Alvarez walking eastbound on Clington Street on the north side of the shoulder, according to the police report.
Alvarez was pronounced dead at ECMC.
News 4 interviewed the teenager’s mother, Alba Torres-Hernandez, who said her family was touched by the outpouring of support from the community.
“He was the most important person in my life,” she said. “He was an amazing boy with a wonderful heart who was giving, loving and caring, and I had the privilege to enjoy him.”
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Dan Telvock is an award-winning investigative producer and reporter who has been part of the News 4 team since 2018. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter.
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