Obscene gestures, brake checks preceded fatal crash on I-83

Speeding. Obscene hand gestures. Using the exit lane to pass a slower vehicle.

That’s all that happened between three drivers in the moments before last year’s fatal crash on northbound Interstate 83 in Fairview, according to court documents obtained Thursday by PennLive.

The incident on the morning of May 19 attracted the attention of other drivers who later reported to the police that all three drivers were acting recklessly.

Shortly before the accident, three cars, including a motorcycle, ended up in the left lane. The first driver slammed on the brakes, allowing the driver behind him to “check the brakes,” a dangerous act designed to get the other driver to back up, which is considered road abuse.

After his brakes were checked, Ray Hacker, 31, of Conewago Township, York County, swerved into the right lane at about the same time as the motorcyclist behind him.

Then Hacker heard a thump.

The rear passenger side of Hacker collided with the motorcycle, sending the driver, Issaiha Seiders, and his passenger onto the highway and onto an off-ramp. Seiders’ helmet came off when he hit the guardrail, causing fatal injuries. He died on his 21st birthday. His passenger suffered serious injuries, including broken bones and road rash.

After a seven-month investigation, police charged Hacker with vehicular homicide, aggravated assault and five traffic violations, saying he failed to use a turn signal during an aggressive lane change, collided with a motorcyclist and was involved in reckless acts on the road. .

The other driver involved in the crash failed to stop after the crash and has not been identified, police reports said.

The probable cause affidavit filed against the hacker contained the following information:

Hacker told troopers he got onto I-83 northbound at exit 28 that morning and was driving about 70 miles per hour to keep up with traffic.

As Hacker was coming down the hill to Exit 35, he said he came across Seiders’ motorcycle and a Dodge Caliber. Seiders and the Caliber driver were “fighting” and cheating on each other, Hacker told state police.

Hacker said Seiders and the Caliber were ahead of him until he swerved into the left lane to pass another slower car. After changing lanes, Caliber pulled in front of him and checked the brakes of Hacker’s Ford Fusion. Siders was behind Hacker when the brake test took place.

Hacker said he pulled away from the Caliber and claimed to have turned on his right turn signal to indicate he was going to get back into the right lane. Hacker told officers he had completely changed lanes and turned off his turn signal when he heard Seiders crash into his car, according to the affidavit.

The hacker stopped at the scene and cooperated with the police. The driver of the Dodge Caliber continued driving.

The hacker’s Ford Fusion sustained minor cosmetic damage, including red paint on the rear and passenger side, court documents said. He was not hurt.

Another man who was driving on I-83 at the time of the crash provided state police with his dashcam footage. The 12-second video shows the witness sitting in the right lane as the Dodge Caliber passes on the left and Hacker is directly behind the Caliber, according to the affidavit.

Dashcam footage from the Tesla also shows Hacker’s Ford passing the Tesla on the right, using the exit lane before the crash. According to the Tesla’s records, he changed lanes several times and did not use a turn signal, the affidavit said.

Court documents say Seiders’ motorcycle was driving behind Hacker, “going around the white dotted line” while passing the witness. The video shows Hacker merging from the left lane to the right while Seiders tries to pass in the right lane, the affidavit said.

Seiders then “accelerated rapidly in an attempt to pass the other two vehicles in the right lane,” state police wrote in court documents.

Hacker’s Ford struck the left side of Siders’ motorcycle, ejecting Siders and his passenger, according to the affidavit.

A second witness told troopers that Seiders and a Dodge Caliber passed him just before the crash, but that all three drivers, including Hacker, were driving recklessly that day.

A third witness estimated Seiders and Caliber were going 85 to 90 mph before the crash, but Hacker was going even faster, the affidavit said. That witness corroborated Hacker’s account that Caliber had checked his brakes minutes before the crash.

The speed limit was 65 mph on the stretch of I-83 where the crash occurred.

State police wrote in court documents that they could not find any defects in the highway that contributed to the crash. Nor were there any adverse weather conditions that could have affected it, the affidavit said.

Online court records show Hacker has a preliminary hearing set for Feb. 24 before District Judge Jason Loper.

Obituary of Seiders said he graduated from Dauphin County Technical School and worked at Hillbilly Wizard in Halifax, which sells auto parts.

“He cherished the freedom that the outdoors afforded him, whether it was fishing, hunting or riding his motorcycle,” the obituary said. “Izzy loved working on trucks or anything with an engine and wheels.”

He previously played on the travel soccer team and was active in the Halifax marching band.