Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 33-year-old Frankie C. Hauser of West Seneca pleaded guilty this morning before Erie County Court Judge Suzanne Maxwell Barnes to one count of Leaving the Scene of an Incident Without Reporting Resulting in Death (Class “D” felony). Hauser pleaded guilty, as charged, to the only count in the indictment against him.
On Saturday, February 26, 2022, at approximately 11:45 p.m., the defendant was driving a Jeep Patriot on Clinton Street in the Town of Cheektowaga when he hit a pedestrian who was walking underneath the I-90 bridge. The victim was traveling along the side of the road, with the assistance of a walker, when he was hit by the defendant’s vehicle from behind. The defendant drove away from the scene without reporting the incident to police.
Another motorist saw the severely injured victim lying in the road and called 911. The victim, 64-year-old Paul Kitchen of Buffalo, was taken by ambulance to ECMC where he died from his injuries.
Hauser faces a maximum sentence of 7 years in prison when he is sentenced on Thursday, April 4, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. He remains released on his own recognizance.
DA Flynn commends the Cheektowaga Police Department Accident Investigation Unit and Erie County Central Police Services for their work in this investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Christopher M. McCarthy of the Vehicular Crimes Bureau.