BUFFALO, N.Y. — A Grand Island man will spend the next 25 years to life in prison for a crash that killed one teen and injured four others about a year and a half ago in Buffalo.
In handing down his sentence against Ronald F. Olson, II who was convicted by a jury on charges of murder and assault, Erie County Court Judge James Bargnesi remarked that the incident highlights the tragedy of criminal cases and how choices made, sometimes over the course of just a few seconds, can alter and shatter lives, forever.
According to prosecutors, Olson had approached 18-year-old Jarel Buchanon and four of his passengers at a gas station on Main Street near Winspear Avenue on the morning of March 20, 2023, and attempted to sell them clothing.
When Buchanon and the others left, prosecutors say Olson believed the five men had taken the clothes without paying for them and gave chase at a high rate of speed.
The chase ended less than a mile away when Olson, driving a pickup truck, allegedly caught up to Buchanon and crashed into his Jeep Liberty sending it into a light pole and then into a tree near Benwood Avenue.
During an emotionally charged victim impact statement, Buchanon's mother asked Olson to look at her as she told him, "I want you to suffer…you should burn in hell every day," while reminding him that all she has left of her son is a box of ashes on a table.
When given his chance to speak Olson said "I'm not a killer. It was an accident. I apologize to the families…I will go through hell and this will haunt me for the rest of my life."
Jarel Buchanon left behind two small children who are now two and four years old respectively, and who are being raised by relatives.
"We can never get our Jarel back but as a unit and as a family we all are together," said Carol Jackson, Buchanon's grandmother.