Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 60-year-old William B. Gray of Buffalo has been arraigned before State Supreme Court Justice M. William Boller on an indictment charging him with one count of Falsely Reporting an Incident in the First Degree, a Class “D” felony.

It is alleged that on April 15, 2020, at approximately 12:40 p.m., a Buffalo Police officer was responding to a high-priority call of a report of a person with a knife on Wyoming Avenue. As the officer was driving the patrol vehicle, with emergency lights flashing, he collided with another vehicle on Main Street near Benwood Avenue. Two pedestrians were subsequently injured as a result of the crash.

The officer, the two occupants of the other vehicle, and the two pedestrians were taken to the hospital. One of the pedestrians, a 30-year-old female, continues to recover from serious injuries. The other four individuals were treated and released.

The defendant is accused of making the 911 phone call that resulted in serious physical injury in an accident involving an emergency vehicle that was responding to the false report of a person with a knife.

Gray is scheduled to return on Tuesday, January 26, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. for a pre-trial conference. He remains released on his own recognizance.

If convicted of the charge, Gray faces a maximum of 7 years in prison.

DA Flynn commends the Buffalo Police Department Homicide Unit and the New York State Police Accident Investigation Unit for their work in the investigation.

The case is being prosecuted by Chief Paul Glascott of the DA’s Vehicular Crimes Bureau.

As are all persons accused of a crime, the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.