WEST SENECA — A heavy caseload before West Seneca Town Justice Jon Minear on Tuesday night has led to another postponement of the scheduled non-jury trial in the drunken driving case against Starpoint Central School District Superintendent Sean Croft.
Croft’s trial had been scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. and the law enforcement witnesses set to testify in the case were at the courthouse. But more than a dozen other cases that Minear had to hear pushed the potential start of the trial past 9 p.m.
With the trial expected to last several hours, Minear suggested a postponement. The trial is now rescheduled for 7 p.m. on April 29.
Croft faces charges of driving while intoxicated, imprudent speed and unsafe movement from a traffic lane in connection with a Labor Day weekend car crash that caused property damage but no injuries. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is free on his own recognizance.
Erie County prosecutors offered no objection to the delay.
In addition to the officer’s testimony, prosecutors have previously turned over evidence in the case to Croft’s defense. That evidence is known to include multiple videos from the crash scene recorded by West Seneca Police patrol car dashboard cams and officer-worn body cameras.
West Seneca police said the crash occurred about 3:40 p.m. Aug. 31. Officers had responded to a call of a single-vehicle crash on Nina Terrace near East-West Road. Crash investigators said Croft is suspected of driving his vehicle at “a speed in excess of the legal limit,” when he drove off of the roadway and hit a tree in the residential neighborhood.
Croft, 50, of Cheektowaga, was treated at the scene by paramedics.
If convicted on the DWI charge, Croft could face up to a year in jail. His New York State driver’s license has been temporarily suspended.
After the crash, Croft was placed on leave from his post as the Starpoint superintendent. However, in November, the members of the Starpoint Central School District Board of Education “agreed unanimously” to return Croft to his job with the district.
Croft returned to work on Nov. 14.