Shelburne police officer had YouTube video playing in cruiser at time of fatal crash, court records say
Kyle Kapitanski is set to be arraigned next week on a felony charge stemming from the crash that killed Sean Hayes, a cyclist, in South Burlington.
by
Alan J. KeaysMarch 7, 2025, 5:37 pm
Shelburne Police car outside of town police station. File photo by Gail Callahan/VTDigger
A Shelburne police sergeant had a YouTube video playing on a computer tablet mounted in his cruiser when he struck and killed a cyclist in South Burlington, according to documents filed in support of a felony charge against him.
Kyle Kapitanski, 41, is set to be arraigned Thursday in Chittenden County Superior criminal court in Burlington on a charge of grossly negligent operation with death resulting. Sean Hayes, 38, of Burlington, died at the scene of
the crash, which took place early in the morning of Nov. 11, 2024.
Kapitanski had been issued a
citation on the charge last month following an investigation by Vermont State Police.
Detective Sgt. Steven Gelder of the Vermont State Police wrote in the charging document made public this week that Kapitanski, who had been driving his cruiser south on Shelburne Road in South Burlington around 2:40 a.m., called dispatch reporting that he had hit something, “possibly a person.”
Neither Kapitanksi’s body-worn camera nor the camera on the cruiser dash captured the crash, the filing stated, but the body-worn camera did record some “post-collision” events.
That camera, Gelder wrote, showed that the in-car mounted tablet displayed a web browser for a YouTube video.
“Within the body-worn camera’s recording,” Gelder wrote, “Kapitanski’s hand can be seen changing the tablet’s display screen, after the collision, from the YouTube web site to Valcour which is a computer-aided dispatch (CAD) screen.”
A review by Zachary Nebeker of the state police’s technology investigation unit confirmed that YouTube footage was visible on the tablet from 2:29 a.m. to 2:40 a.m., the charging document stated.
A crash report from state police revealed that Kapitanski was driving about 40 mph at the time of the crash, above the 35 mph limit, Gelder wrote.
“The crash reconstruction report states the crash likely could have been avoided if Kapitanski was traveling at the speed limit,” Gelder wrote.
“The report also states that there was a delay when the brakes were activated after the crash,” according to the Gelder. “This delay was measured to be approximately 85 feet. The analysis of the tablet was found to be playing a YouTube video for nearly 10 seconds prior to the collision.”
Gelder wrote that a member of the South Burlington Fire Department who evaluated Kapitanski after the crash recounted Kapitanski saying that Hayes “came out of nowhere.”
Gelder also noted that, according to the crash report, Hayes was wearing “inconspicuous” clothing and neither his bicycle nor a trailer he towed behind it had “reflective material” or lights.
Video from a Jolley’s convenience store recorded Kapitanski leaving the store at about 2:39 a.m. and heading south on Shelburne Road.
A person, later identified as Hayes, was also captured on a camera from a nearby business showing him at about the same time dismounting his bicycle, walking on the sidewalk, before returning to the bicycle’s location within the roadway, Gelder wrote.
“Hayes is seen standing within the roadway but near the curb,” the filing stated.
“It appeared,” Gelder wrote, “that Hayes was in the process of adjusting the bicycling and trailer and then began walking southbound adjacent with the bicycle when he was struck by the vehicle operated by Kapitanski at approx. 0240 hrs.”
State police’s review of the tablet showed “several Youtube” web addresses accessed between 2:29 a.m. and 2:40 a.m, the charging document stated.
Nebeker’s review also determined that the last web browser video “appeared visually consistent” with what was shown on Kapitanski’s body-worn camera, Gelder wrote.
A link to the last video was provided in the filing; it is titled, “Trans woman CONFRONTING Matt Walsh takes UNEXPECTED turn.”
Nebeker added that during the 11 minutes the device was playing YouTube videos, there was “no evidence of user interaction” with it.
David Sleigh, Kapitanski’s attorney, said Friday that he planned to challenge Judge David Fenster’s finding that there was probable cause to support a felony charge of gross negligent operation with death resulting.
“The affidavit, as near as I can see it, says that Kyle was going maybe 5 miles over the speed limit, that his computer was playing some sort of video, but the officer says that their IT guy says there doesn’t appear to be any interaction with the computer in the 11 minutes that matter,” Sleigh said.
Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George, whose office is prosecuting the case, stated in an email Friday, “The Court has found probable cause for the charge and we stand by our decision to file that charge.”
