BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - A Buffalo man has been charged with vehicular manslaughter after driving a minivan into the McKinley Monument in Niagara Square Thanksgiving Day.
40-year-old Paul Tolbert was arraigned Tuesday afternoon and charged with one count of vehicular manslaughter in the second degree, as the crash killed 34-year-old Angel Marie Cobb, who was the passenger in the minivan.
"I'm precluded ethically from commenting on any of the testing results that we've done in this case, so I can just in general tell you that the black box of this car was obtained, and he was traveling at an excessive rate of speed," said Erie County District Attorney John Flynn.
"I can tell you that the toxicology tests on him have been completed," Flynn continued. "I can't tell you the results of those tests, but I can tell you that he was not only traveling at an excessive rate of speed, but the evidence suggests that he was under the influence of controlled substances."
Tolbert has been in the hospital since the incident and was arraigned virtually from his hospital room.
If convicted, Tolbert faces up to seven years in prison, which Flynn said is a "little light," but the district attorney also noted that more charges could be coming.
"There are other unrelated to vehicular homicide charges that you potentially could charge," said Flynn. "There is just regular manslaughter, which would make it a C Felony. Like I say many times, between now and the grand jury, the investigation continues...I anticipate that there's going to be more charges at some point."
Buffalo Police Captain Jeff Rinaldo said the city will be making a claim against the insurance company of the vehicle to try to recoup some of the monetary damage done to the McKinley Monument.
"I was there that day, and the scene was just incredible - it was the worst car accident I've ever seen in my life," said Rinaldo. "Over $100,000 damage was actually done to the monument."
Rinaldo later clarified that the total damage figure also included some of the damage that occurred during protests over the summer.
