Shelburne police sergeant was playing YouTube at time of fatal crash with cyclist, documents show
By Michael Cusanelli
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SHELBURNE, Vermont (WPTZ) — New court documents regarding the fatal crash investigators say involved a Shelburne police cruiser and a cyclist in South Burlington have shed new light on the case.
Shelburne Police Sgt. Kyle Kapitanski has been charged with gross negligent operation with death resulting from a fatal crash that killed cyclist Sean Hayes back in November.
According to documents obtained by NBC5, Kapitanski was traveling five miles over the speed limit at the time of the crash and was playing a YouTube video at the time of the incident.
Kapitanski’s department-issued tablet was being used to watch YouTube videos in the minutes preceding the crash, and footage from his body-worn camera shows him changing the video on the screen from YouTube back to Valcour, a computer-aided dispatch screen in the moments after the crash occurred.
The documents show that the victim’s bicycle and the trailer he was towing were not lit or covered with reflectors at the time of the crash.
They also said Hayes was wearing “inconspicuous” clothing at the time. Surveillance video from the Mascoma Bank on Shelburne Road shows Hayes dismounting the bicycle and standing in the roadway next to the curb while he appears to adjust the vehicle.
He is then seen walking alongside the vehicle while still in the roadway before he is struck by Kapitanski’s cruiser.
An autopsy determined that Hayes died of blunt force trauma to the head.
Earlier this month, a judge determined that there was probable cause to charge Kapitanski with gross negligent conduct.
Kapitanski’s attorney filed a motion on his behalf to have the charge reviewed and ultimately dismissed on the grounds that prosecutors can not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was grossly negligent based on his speed or because he was viewing a YouTube video at the time of the crash.
He is due in court on March 13 to answer to the charges. Suspects typically enter pleas of not guilty during their initial appearances.
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