Driver charged after one woman killed and another injured in hit-and-run in Niagara Falls

A man is facing multiple driving-related charges after striking two pedestrians and fleeing the scene early Saturday morning in Niagara Falls, leaving one woman dead and another seriously injured.

Niagara Regional Police, along with paramedics and fire crews, responded to a collision shortly after 12:30 a.m. on Drummond Road near Barker Street, where two women were struck by a vehicle that failed to remain at the scene.

Police say a 44-year-old woman, a resident of Niagara Falls, was found critically injured in the roadway. Despite lifesaving efforts, she died at the scene. The second victim, a 31-year-old, also from Niagara Falls, was transported to an out-of-region hospital with serious injuries. Updates on her condition are unknown.

Officials have not specified whether the victims knew each other.

Subsequently, police were directed to Culp Street near Drummond Road, where they found a grey Acura Integra that had crashed into two parked vehicles. The driver was found behind the wheel.

Investigators say evidence linked the driver and the vehicle to the earlier collision. At 1:03 a.m., officers arrested 31-year-old John Franco Bonaldo of Niagara Falls.

Bonaldo has been charged with several Criminal Code offences, including failing to stop after an accident resulting in death, failing to stop after an accident resulting in bodily harm, operation while impaired causing death, operation while impaired causing bodily harm and operation while impaired with blood alcohol concentration exceeding the legal limit.

Bonaldo was held in custody and is scheduled for a video bail hearing at the Robert S.K. Welch Courthouse in St. Catharines on Nov. 16.

The Niagara Regional Police Collision Reconstruction Unit and Forensic Services Unit are investigating.

Road closures that were in effect near the collision site have since been lifted.

Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact investigators at 905-688-4111, option 3, extension 1009129. Anonymous tips can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online, with cash rewards for information leading to an arrest.