Driver Pleads Guilty for Leaving the Scene and Tampering with Evidence After Killing Pedestrian

Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane announces that Wendell M. Brooks, 45, of Buffalo, pleaded guilty this morning before Erie County Court Judge James Bargnesi to one count of Manslaughter in the Second Degree (Class C felony), one count of Leaving the Scene of an Incident Without Reporting Resulting in Death (Class D felony under New York State Vehicle & Traffic Law) and two counts of Tampering with Physical Evidence (Class E felonies). Brooks entered a guilty plea to all counts in the indictment.

On Thursday, July 17, 2025, at approximately 10:00 p.m., the defendant was operating a Tesla Cybertruck eastbound on William Street in the City of Buffalo when he hit a pedestrian who was crossing the road at the intersection of Benzinger Street. The victim, 37-year-old Paache Spikes-Redding, was pronounced dead at the scene. The defendant recklessly caused the death of the victim while driving the vehicle at a high rate of speed and drove away without reporting the incident to police.

The defendant, with the intent to prevent the production or use of certain physical evidence in an official proceeding, knowingly suppressed evidence through acts of concealment. After the crime, the defendant attempted to conceal the vehicle by abandoning the Cybertruck in a wooded area in the Village of Sloan. The defendant tampered with physical evidence by intentionally removing a flash drive from the center counsel, which contained the vehicle's recording data.

Brooks faces a maximum of 15 years in prison when he is sentenced on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. Our prosecutors requested that the defendant be held without bail while pending sentence. Judge Bargnesi continued his release on previously posted bail under the supervision of the Probation Department. Conditions of his pre-trial release include a curfew, treatment screening and an ankle monitor. Additionally, his New York State driver's license remains suspended.

DA Keane commends Lieutenant Dennis Taylor, Officer Corey Krug and members of the Buffalo Police Department Accident Investigation Unit for their work in this investigation.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Natasha G. Greenan and Christine O. Murray of the Vehicular Crimes Bureau as well as Assistant Chief Christopher M. McCarthy of the Buffalo City Court Bureau.