(WNY News Now) – Wendell M. Brooks, 45, of Buffalo, was sentenced to 5 to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges stemming from a 2025 hit-and-run that killed a pedestrian.

Brooks was sentenced Wednesday, September 23, in Erie County Court by Judge James Bargnesi. His New York State driver’s license was also revoked as a condition of the sentence.

According to the Erie County District Attorney’s Office, Brooks was driving a Tesla Cybertruck eastbound on William Street in Buffalo at about 10 p.m. on July 17, 2025, when the vehicle struck 37-year-old Paache Spikes-Redding, who was crossing the road at Benzinger Street.

Spikes-Redding was pronounced dead at the scene.

Prosecutors said Brooks was traveling at a high rate of speed and left the scene without reporting the crash to police.

The District Attorney’s Office also said Brooks later attempted to conceal the vehicle by abandoning the Cybertruck in a wooded area in the Village of Sloan. Investigators determined that a flash drive containing vehicle recording data had been removed from the center console.

In July 2026, Brooks pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter, leaving the scene of an incident without reporting that resulted in death, and two counts of tampering with physical evidence.

The manslaughter charge is a Class C felony, while leaving the scene resulting in death is a Class D felony under New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law. The two evidence-tampering charges are Class E felonies.

The Erie County District Attorney’s Office credited Buffalo Police Department Accident Investigation Unit members, including Lieutenant Dennis Taylor and Officer Corey Krug, along with victim advocate Cathy Mitchell, for their work on the case.

The prosecution was handled by Assistant District Attorneys Natasha G. Greenan and Christine O. Murray of the Vehicular Crimes Bureau and Assistant Chief Christopher M. McCarthy of the Buffalo City Court Bureau.