Buffalo man sentenced for killing motorist in wrong-way crash

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- A Buffalo man was sentenced Tuesday afternoon for killing a motorist in a wrong-way crash on the I-190 on Aug. 12, 2023, the Erie County District Attorney's Office announced.

Guillermo Morales, 53, received an indeterminate sentence of five to 15 years in prison.

Officials said around 3 a.m., Morales was driving under the influence of alcohol and a drug and caused a collision on the I-190 near the Scajaquada Expressway.

He was driving north on the southbound side of the highway when he crashed his pickup truck head-on into another vehicle which was driven by 38-year-old Matthew Czop of Tonawanda. Czop was pronounced dead at the scene.

Morales was taken by ambulance to be treated for non-life threatening injuries and was arraigned later the same day while hospitalized at ECMC.

During the investigation, Morales was found in possession of powder cocaine.

He pleaded guilty to the following:

• three counts of aggravated vehicular homicide
• one count second-degree manslaughter
• one count fourth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance
• one count first-degree aggravated unlicensed operation