Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 38-year-old Cuansharee Palmer of Buffalo has been sentenced by State Supreme Court Justice M. William Boller to an indeterminate sentence of 3-9 years in prison.

On April 30, 2017, at approximately 5 a.m., 39-year-old Donnell Sharp, exited the defendant’s SUV outside of his home on East Morris Avenue in the City of Buffalo. He was later found pinned underneath the defendant’s vehicle after it had jumped a curb, hit a tree and a set of sidewalk steps. Buffalo firefighters were able to pull Sharp out from under the vehicle, but he died from his injuries at ECMC.

Palmer, the victim’s ex-wife, was driving with a BAC of .15, nearly twice the legal limit with the couple’s two children, who were ages 3 and 5 at the time, in the backseat.

In May 2018, Palmer was found guilty by a jury on all nine counts of the indictment: one count of Manslaughter in the Second Degree, two counts of Vehicular Manslaughter in the Second Degree, four counts of Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated with a Child Passenger Less than 16, and two counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child.

DA Flynn commends the Buffalo Police Department Accident Investigation Unit and Trooper Troy Ford of the New York State Police for their investigative work.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Patrick B. Shanahan of the DA’s Tactical Prosecution Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Rebecca Schnirel of the DA’s Domestic Violence Bureau.