LOCKPORT, N.Y. (WKBW) — A Niagara Falls man has pleaded guilty to first-degree vehicular manslaughter in a crash that killed a passenger in his vehicle in August 2022.
The Niagara County District Attorney's Office said on August 26, 2022, 48-year-old Eric S. Gardner was behind the wheel of a vehicle that left Ridge Road in the Town of Hartland, struck a tree and overturned several times. A passenger in the vehicle, Stacey Donnelly of Lockport, was killed.
According to Niagara County District Attorney Brian D. Seaman, Gardner's blood alcohol was three times the legal limit and he also had cocaine in his system.
“The defendant showed complete disregard for the safety of his passenger and anyone else who might have been on the road that night. His blood alcohol was three times the legal limit and he also had cocaine in his system. The sad and completely avoidable result is that Stacy’s family, her children and grandchildren, will live the rest of their lives without her.”
- DA Seaman
Gardner will be sentenced on May 20.
