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Penfield man charged in deadly hit-and-run crash on Empire Blvd.

Will Cleveland Sean Lahman
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

A 27-year-old Penfield man is charged in connection with the June 20 hit-and-run that killed a mother and injured her two daughters and grandson, authorities announced Tuesday.

Maxwell Ward is charged with criminally negligent homicide, two counts of leaving the scene of an accident, each felonies, two counts of leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, each misdemeanors, and various traffic violations after he allegedly left the Empire Boulevard scene where Oksana Zakharchyshyn, 41, was struck and killed.

Ward allegedly left the scene and tried to conceal his vehicle, a 2010 Toyota RAV4. He turned himself into police the night of the crash. He was arraigned Tuesday before Town Justice Thomas DiSalvo and remanded to the Monroe County Jail on $25,000 cash bail or $100,000 bond.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 17, but Monroe County Assistant District Attorney Merrick Sadler said the case would be presented to a grand jury. 

Oksana Zakharchyshyn, 41, died at the scene. Also pictured is her husband, Ihor.

Ward is the grandson of deceased developer Anthony Costello.

Outside of court Tuesday afternoon, Webster Police Chief Joseph Rieger would not answer any questions about the evidence investigators had gathered, but he did explain it took several weeks to gather that evidence, analyze it, and determine what charges were warranted in the case.

Defense attorney Brian DeCarolis also declined to comment on the circumstances that led to the crash but said his client went to police and turned himself in shortly after the incident.

"There's a big difference between a situation where somebody leaves and flees the jurisdiction or goes into hiding, compared to what Max did," DeCarolis said. "The night in question he went right to the Webster Police Department and turned himself in."

Court documents indicate Ward's father drove him to to the police station six hours after the crash.

Multiple witnesses identified Ward as the driver, according to the felony complaint. He also admitted to two witnesses, both of whom were interviewed by police, that he was the driver paperwork alleges.

Ward allegedly went to a smoke shop before the crash and purchased cigars, documents show. He allegedly bent over to pick up his cellphone just before the collision.

"The defendant applied his brakes for a short period of time after the collision, but then sped away from the scene and drove to his father's home, where he concealed the vehicle with its front end pulled into the garage," paperwork stated.

The crash occurred shortly before 9 p.m. 

Zakharchyshyn, a Webster resident, had moved to Monroe County from Ukraine just six months earlier. 

Her two daughters and grandson were also injured in the crash, which occurred as the family walked to get frozen custard at a nearby shop.

Maxwell Ward

The four family members were walking along Empire, near the AMC movie theater, when they were struck by a southbound SUV and thrown into a ditch alongside the road. 

Oksana died at the scene. Her daughters Mariana, 22, and Oleksandra (called Oleysa by her family), 15, and grandson Maksym Tsybrii, 3, who was in a stroller, were all injured and taken to Strong Memorial Hospital for treatment.

Mariana and her son were discharged the following day. Oleksandra, who suffered serious injuries to her leg, neck and spine, remained hospitalized. She remains at Strong in satisfactory condition.

“The person that hit these people slowed down briefly (after the crash) and then sped up," said Nate Rowan, an East Rochester resident who called 911 and helped locate the injured pedestrians in a ditch

That stretch of Empire Boulevard curves around several businesses where Empire splits off Ridge Road and merges with Gravel Road. There is no sidewalk in the 45 mph zone and only about 2 feet of shoulder. 
