Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane announced Friday that Brian M. Borth, 30, of Tonawanda, was sentenced before State Supreme Court Justice Paul B. Wojtaszek to an indeterminate sentence of 4 to 12 years in prison. As a condition of the sentence, his New York State driver’s license was revoked.
On May 8, 2024, at approximately 12:40 a.m., Borth was driving a vehicle south on Niagara Street in Buffalo when he hit a man who was riding a skateboard. The skateboarder was also traveling in the southbound lane when he was hit from behind near the intersection of Fargo Avenue. The victim, 21-year-old Allen Angel Ruiz, was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Borth recklessly caused the death of the victim and left the scene without reporting the incident to police. After the initial impact, Borth lost control of the vehicle, hit a parked vehicle in the northbound lane and crashed into a home. After colliding with the house, Borth exited the vehicle and ran away from the scene. A short time later, responding police officers found him nearby in the vicinity of West Avenue and Albany Street. He was taken by ambulance to ECMC where he was treated for minor injuries.
The investigation determined that Borth was operating the vehicle while under the combined influence of alcohol and a drug. Borth was also driving at a high rate of speed prior to the crash — evidence showed the vehicle was traveling at 111 mph seconds before hitting the skateboarder.
In May 2026, Borth pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree manslaughter (Class C felony), two counts of second-degree vehicular manslaughter (Class D felonies) and one count of leaving the scene of an incident without reporting resulting in death (Class D felony under New York State Vehicle & Traffic Law). Borth, who was not offered a reduced plea, entered a guilty plea to all counts in the indictment.
Keane commended Officer Mark Andrzejak, Officer Corey Krug, Officer Jason Heidinger, Officer Cristian Cirino and Officer Elnur Karadzha of the Buffalo Police Department as well as the Buffalo Fire Department for their work in this investigation. DA Keane also commends the work of victim advocate Cathy Mitchell.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Christine O. Murray of the Vehicular Crimes Bureau and Assistant Chief Christopher M. McCarthy of the Buffalo City Court Bureau..