Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane announces that Niyonna E. Cunningham, 23, of Buffalo, pleaded guilty yesterday morning before State Supreme Court Justice Paul B. Wojtaszek to one count of Vehicular Manslaughter in the Second Degree (Class “D” felony). The defendant pleaded guilty to the highest count in full satisfaction of the indictment.
On Thursday, November 28, 2024, at approximately 10:00 p.m., Buffalo Police officers responded to a crash involving a vehicle and a pedestrian near the intersection of Boehm Place and Bailey Avenue. The defendant was driving a Ford SUV while under the influence of alcohol with an infant inside her vehicle when she hit a pedestrian. The victim, 62-year-old Madonna Bishop, was taken by ambulance to ECMC where she was pronounced dead.
Cunningham faces a maximum of 7 years in prison when she is sentenced on Monday, June 30, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. Our prosecutor requested that the defendant be remanded pending sentence. Judge Wojtaszek continued the defendant’s release under supervision.
DA Keane commends the Buffalo Police Department Accident Investigation Unit for their work in this investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Christine O. Murray, Assistant District Attorney Natasha G. Greenan and Chief Patrick B. Shanahan of the Vehicular Crimes Bureau.