Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 20-year-old Hannah Christensen of Clifton Park, New York has been arraigned before Amherst Town Court Judge Geoffrey Klein on one count of Leaving the Scene of an Incident Without Reporting, a Class “E” felony, and one count of Failure to Yield to a Pedestrian, a vehicle and traffic violation.

It is alleged that on Thursday, November 1, 2018, at approximately 9:47 p.m., the defendant hit a pedestrian in the crosswalk while driving her car on Hadley Road in front of the Hadley Village Apartments on University at Buffalo’s North Campus. The defendant did not stop and drove away from the scene. 

Another woman, who was driving her vehicle in the opposite direction, witnessed the crash. She immediately stopped to help the victim and called 911.

The pedestrian, a 20-year-old female undergraduate student at UB, was taken to ECMC in critical condition. The victim, who remains hospitalized, suffered a fractured pelvis and a fractured skull, which resulted in a traumatic brain injury.

The defendant waived her felony hearing and was released on her own recognizance. A return date has not been scheduled as the case was held for action of the Grand Jury.

If convicted, she faces a maximum of 4 years in prison.

DA Flynn commends the investigative work of the University at Buffalo Police Department.

The case is being prosecuted by Paul J. Glascott, Chief of the DA’s Felony Trials Bureau.

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