(WNY News Now) – BUFFALO, N.Y. — Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane announced that a West Seneca man has pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of a fatal crash that claimed the life of a pedestrian in North Buffalo.
On Monday, September 29, 2025, 44-year-old Samuel Baer entered a guilty plea before Erie County Court Judge Suzanne Maxwell Barnes to one count of Leaving the Scene of an Incident Resulting in Death (Class D felony). The plea represents the highest sustainable charge in the case.
The incident occurred on September 25, 2024, at approximately 10:56 p.m., when 59-year-old Joseph W. Domnissey fell into the roadway near the 2000 block of Elmwood Avenue, between Hertel Avenue and Hinman Avenue. A Good Samaritan stopped at a nearby traffic light attempted to help and direct vehicles away from the victim.
Baer, driving a pickup truck southbound on Elmwood Avenue, proceeded through a green light and struck the victim. Following the impact, Baer’s vehicle crossed into the northbound lane, drove onto a grass-covered lot, and continued southbound without stopping.
Domnissey was transported by ambulance to Erie County Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead. Prosecutors say Baer failed to notify authorities and left the scene of the fatal crash.
Baer faces up to seven years in prison when he is sentenced on December 15, 2025, at 2 p.m. He is currently being held without bail.
District Attorney Keane credited the Buffalo Police Department Accident Investigation Unit for its work on the case. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant District Attorney Christopher M. McCarthy and Chief Patrick B. Shanahan of the Vehicular Crimes Bureau.
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