BURLINGTON — A Shelburne police sergeant who investigators say had a YouTube video playing in his cruiser when he drove into and killed a cyclist has denied a felony offense, with a judge rejecting a bid by his attorney to toss or reduce the charge.
At a Thursday hearing in Chittenden County Superior criminal court in Burlington, Sgt. Kyle Kapitanski’s lawyer, David Sleigh, argued there was neither proof his client was watching the video in his cruiser nor that any negligence rose to the level of a felony offense.
Judge David Fenster disagreed, letting the case proceed on the felony charge brought by the Chittenden County State’s Attorney Office. The judge ruled the prosecution had presented enough evidence to support the finding of probable cause for the offense.
Sleigh then entered a not guilty plea on his client’s behalf to the felony charge of grossly negligent operation of a motor vehicle with death resulting.
The charge against Kapitanski stems from a crash early in the morning of Nov. 11, 2024, that killed 38-year-old Sean Hayes of Burlington on Shelburne Road in South Burlington.
If convicted, Kapitansk, 41, faces up to 15 years in prison.
A large group of Hayes’ friends and family, including parents Steve and Donna Hayes, filled seats in the courtroom gallery at Thursday’s hearing.
Most of the brief proceeding focused on the YouTube videos playing in Kapitanski’s cruiser leading up to the crash and what role they may have had in it.
“The allegation that a video with accompanying audio was playing on Sgt. Kapitanski’s cruiser’s computer screen is not evidence of distraction,” Sleigh, Kapitanski’s attorney, wrote in a motion filed ahead of the hearing. “Police listen to near-constant radio traffic and may even listen to broadcast radio while on patrol.”
Sleigh also told the judge during the hearing Thursday, “Glancing at the video — there’s no evidence of that — but glancing at it, simple negligence.”
Deputy State’s Attorney Matthew Dolezal, a prosecutor in the case, pointed to a law that stated that it is a violation in Vermont to drive a vehicle while having a “screen or other device transmitting a moving entertainment picture that is visible to the operator.”
Coupled with Kapitanski driving over the speed limit at the time of the crash and a finding by the investigators that the cruiser’s brakes weren’t activated until about 85 feet after the crash supported the probable cause needed for the felony charge, Dolezal told the judge.
Vermont State Police investigators, who led the probe into the incident, alleged in an affidavit filed ahead of Thursday’s hearing that Kapitanski was driving his Shelburne Ford Explorer cruiser about 40 mph in a 35 mph zone on Shelburne Road near an intersection with Fayette Drive when the fatal crash took place.
Kapitanski had YouTube videos playing on a computer tablet mounted in his cruiser leading up to the crash, with a review of that device showing “several” YouTube web addresses accessed between 2:29 a.m. and 2:40 a.m, the charging documents stated. The review also noted there was “no evidence of user interaction” with the device during that time period. The crash took place at about 2:40 a.m.
According to a state police crash report, Hayes was wearing “inconspicuous” clothing and neither his bicycle nor a trailer he towed behind it had lights or “reflective material.”
Hayes had been seen in a video captured from a nearby business standing within the roadway but near the curb with his bicycle that had been towing a trailer, according to the charging documents.
The filing also stated that it appeared Hayes was adjusting the bicycle and trailer and then began walking southbound adjacent with the bicycle when Kapitanski’s cruiser struck him.
Hayes’ estate has filed a civil lawsuit against the town of Shelburne in connection with the fatal crash.
Brooks McArthur, an attorney representing the estate, said outside the courtroom Thursday that Hayes’ family and friends were glad the judge upheld the probable cause finding for the felony charge against Kapitanski.
“There are a lot of people impacted by this case. There’s a mother and a father and siblings and close family friends and children who were all deeply impacted by Sean’s death,” McArthur said. “We would like the person who caused Sean’s death held accountable.”
McArthur also said he believed that Kapitanski was distracted by the YouTube video playing in his cruiser.
“I think that video was playing, I think he was watching it,” McArthur said of Kapitanski. “I think a reasonable person would conclude that if he was paying attention to the roadway he would have seen Sean.”
Kapitanski, who has been on paid leave from his job in Shelburne since the crash, was released by the judge without bail or conditions Thursday.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Judge rejects bid to toss felony for Shelburne police sergeant charged in fatal crash .