Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 28-year-old Kristofer Gregorek of Ballston Spa, New York has been sentenced by State Supreme Court Justice Christopher J. Burns to an indeterminate sentence of 1 ½ to 4 ½ years.

On the morning of June 8, 2017, the defendant was driving a commercial truck that rear-ended a car on the New York State Thruway. The driver of the vehicle, 44-year-old Ellen Volpe of Rochester, was killed. Volpe, an Assistant Professor at the University at Buffalo School of Nursing, was on her way to work at the time of the crash.

According to prosecutors, Gregorek was accessing the Internet via his cell phone and traveling nearly 70 mph when the crash occurred at a construction site near Exit 49 (Depew) on the I-90 in Lancaster.

Gregorek pleaded guilty to Manslaughter in the Second Degree in February 2018.

“This was a horrific, but completely preventable crash that resulted in the death of a woman who was loved by her family, friends and community,” said DA Flynn. “The defendant is a young father with no criminal history.  He will now spend time in prison as a result of his reckless actions.”

DA Flynn commends New York State Police Investigator John McCusker and the NYSP Collision Reconstruction Unit for their thorough investigation.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Christopher M. McCarthy of the DA’s Vehicular Crimes Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Michael D. Smith of the DA’s Homicide Bureau.