Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 40-year-old Matthew Jendresky of Akron pleaded guilty to one count of Leaving the Scene of an Incident Without Reporting, a Class “E” felony, and one count of Driving While Intoxicated, a misdemeanor. The defendant pleaded guilty to the highest charge in the indictment against him before State Supreme Court Justice Russell P. Buscaglia on Thursday, May 30, 2019.

On October 9, 2018, at approximately 7:55 p.m., a woman was driving on Clarence Center Road in the Town of Newstead with her two children, ages 8 and 6, in the backseat when the defendant hit her vehicle with his Dodge Ram pickup truck at an intersection at Cummings Road.

The defendant, while driving his pickup under the influence of alcohol, crossed the center lane into oncoming traffic, causing a head-on collision with the victim’s Prius. After the crash, the defendant put his vehicle into reverse, which forced the two vehicles apart. As he attempted to drive around the Prius, he hit the Prius a second time, causing damage to the rear end of the vehicle.

The defendant drove a short distance away from the scene, and parked his vehicle in the driveway of a residence on Cummings Road. When he heard the sirens and saw the emergency responders coming to the crash site, he ran into a wooded area where he was located approximately 90 minutes later.

The 8-year-old child, who was seated in a booster seat with her seatbelt on, suffered a large cut on her forehead as a result of the crash. She was taken to Oishei Children’s Hospital where she underwent surgery for the wound, which required multiple sutures to close it. The driver and other child passenger did not suffer any serious injuries.

Jendresky faces a maximum of 1 year in jail in prison when he is sentenced on Wednesday, August 14, 2019 at 11:00 a.m.

DA Flynn commends Officer Scott Johnson of the Akron Police Department as well as New York State Troopers Daniel Schneeberger and Robert Murtha for their work in locating the defendant immediately following the crash.

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