Angolan man pleads guilty to manslaughter in car crash | News, Sports, Jobs

Anthony Rydzewski

Acting Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane has announced that Anthony Rydzewski, 41, of Angola, pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter, a Class C felony, on Monday before State Supreme Court Judge M. William Boller. The defendant pleaded guilty to the highest charge.

According to Keane, on February 28 at approximately 11:30 a.m., the defendant was driving recklessly at a high rate of speed northbound on Route 5 in the town of Hamburg when he caused a collision with another vehicle. The driver of the other vehicle, 37-year-old Jenny E. Zuhlke of Hamburg, died at the scene. The defendant was taken by ambulance to ECMC where his injuries were treated.

The defendant was located by the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, and arrested on a warrant. He waived extradition proceedings and was returned to Western New York by members of the Hamburg Police Department to face prosecution in April.

Rydzewski faces a maximum prison sentence of 15 years when he is sentenced on August 30, 2024. He remains incarcerated and cannot be released on bail.

Keane praises the Hamburg Police Department’s Accident Investigation Unit for their work in this investigation.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Bethany A. Solek of the Vehicular Crimes Bureau.