Buffalo woman charged in connection with fatal hit-and-run crash in Cheektowaga

BUFFALO, NY – A Buffalo woman was charged Friday in connection with a fatal hit-and-run crash that occurred last month.

Iyanna R. Scott, 21, of Buffalo was arraigned in state Supreme Court Friday morning on charges of murder, attempted murder and leaving the scene of a crime resulting in death, the Erie County District Attorney’s Office said Friday.

Scott was charged in connection with an incident that occurred on Sunday, May 19, at approximately 5:20 p.m. At the time, prosecutors said, she was driving with two men to a car wash in the 2200 block of Walden Avenue in the city of Cheektowaga.

Prosecutors said Scott got into an argument with one of the men outside the car wash. When things got physical, both men left, she added.

They “crossed the street and continued west on Walden Avenue across Union Road,” prosecutors said, adding that she followed the men in a Hyundai Elantra.

Prosecutors said she accelerated her vehicle as the men crossed Union Road. One of the men, 21-year-old Demario Patterson, was struck. He was taken by ambulance to Erie County Medical Center, where he later died.

“The defendant allegedly drove away from the scene without reporting the incident to police. The vehicle was later found on Briscoe Avenue in the City of Buffalo,” prosecutors said.

Scott is being held without bail. A search of the New York state court’s electronic filing system on Friday showed that Scott was assigned a defense attorney and that she was arrested on Thursday.

If convicted of the most serious charge, Scott faces up to 25 years in prison.

“This is a completely senseless crime. The defendant allegedly knew the two victims, drove around with them prior to the crime, and then intentionally drove her vehicle into them as they crossed the street defenselessly. My thoughts are with the family and friends of the young man who tragically lost his life. Fortunately, the surviving victim and no one else was injured on the road that day,” said Mike Keane, Erie County Assistant District Attorney.