A Niagara Falls man has admitted to striking and killing a 50-year-old woman riding an e-bike, then driving away instead of stopping to help. Antoine Bones pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter in the death of Yolanda Carr, who was struck on Aug. 5, 2024, and prosecutors say he ran her over a second time before fleeing.
Niagara County District Attorney Brian D. Seaman announced the plea, according to wnypapers.com, saying Bones struck Carr while she was riding her e-bike, then continued driving and ran her over before fleeing the scene. The crash happened at 22nd Street and Niagara Avenue in the city's North End, per the Niagara Gazette. As reported by News 4 Buffalo, the Niagara County District Attorney's Office said Bones admitted to killing a woman in an e-bike hit-and-run.
A Shocking Admission in Court
Bones pleaded guilty this morning to the crime of manslaughter in the second degree, the DA's office said, per the same account from wnypapers.com. Seaman said Bones' conduct in running Carr over instead of stopping was shocking, according to News 4 Buffalo. The district attorney added that he hopes Carr's family can feel some closure from the guilty plea.
The indictment was the result of an extensive investigation by the Niagara Falls Police Department, wnypapers.com reported. Bones was originally indicted on single counts of second-degree manslaughter and leaving the scene of a fatal motor vehicle incident without reporting, the Niagara Gazette noted in its coverage of the earlier charges.
An Unrelated Drug Charge and a Five-to-10-Year Term
Bones also pleaded guilty to third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, officials said, a charge that stemmed from an unrelated indictment, according to the same wnypapers.com report. County Court Judge John Ottaviano agreed to an indeterminate sentence of five to 10 years in prison as part of the plea. Ottaviano had earlier set Bones' bail at $250,000 cash or a $500,000 bond, per WKBW.
Part of a Troubling Pattern
The case echoes a similar one in Dutchess County, where a 25-year-old driver was charged with a felony after a 35-year-old e-bike rider died, according to prosecutors cited by Patch last month. For Carr's family, the guilty plea closes a chapter in a case that began with a hit-and-run on a quiet North End street more than two years ago and is set to end with a five-to-10-year prison sentence when Bones returns for sentencing, following what Seaman's office described as an extensive police investigation.
