(WNY News Now) – Buffalo, NY – A Buffalo woman has been indicted for vehicular manslaughter and aggravated DWI following a fatal crash that claimed the life of a pedestrian last November.
Niyonna E. Cunningham, 23, was arraigned on Friday before State Supreme Court Justice Paul B. Wojtaszek on charges including two counts of Vehicular Manslaughter in the Second Degree and two counts of Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated, Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane announced.
Authorities allege that on November 28, 2024, at approximately 10:00 p.m., Cunningham was operating a Ford SUV under the influence of alcohol with an infant in the vehicle when she struck 62-year-old Madonna Bishop near Boehm Place and Bailey Avenue. Bishop was transported to ECMC, where she was later pronounced dead.
Cunningham was initially arraigned the next morning in Buffalo City Court, where prosecutors sought her remand. She was released on $25,000 cash bail or a $50,000 bond. During last week’s arraignment on the indictment, prosecutors again requested that she be held without bail, but the court maintained her release under supervision.
Cunningham is set to appear for a pre-trial conference on April 2, 2025, at 2:30 p.m. If convicted of the highest charge, she faces a maximum sentence of seven years in prison.
The Buffalo Police Department Accident Investigation Unit led the case, and the prosecution is being handled by Assistant District Attorney Natasha G. Greenan and Chief Patrick B. Shanahan of the Vehicular Crimes Bureau.
As with all criminal cases, the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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