CODORUS TOWNSHIP, York County — A 50-year-old sprint car driver had a blood alcohol level more than three times the legal limit when he crashed his pickup truck last October, killing his 41-year-old girlfriend, according to Pennsylvania State Police.
Todd Gracey, of Glenville, had a blood alcohol level of 0.243 percent, well over the legal limit of 0.08 percent, police say.
According to the criminal complaint, the crash happened shortly after 7 p.m. on October 1, 2017, on Blooming Grove Road near Glenville Road in Codorus Township.
Police at the scene reported that Gracey’s Chevorlet Silverado was found on its roof when officers arrived. Emergency personnel were working to extract Gracey from the truck, while his passenger, Ambre Reinhardt, was trapped in the passenger side. Neither one was wearing seatbelts, police say.
Reinhardt was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.
Police observed Bud Light cans scattered throughout the crash scene and inside the truck, according to the criminal complaint.
A witness at the scene told police that prior to the crash, Gracey’s truck was tailgating her so closely that she could not see his headlights in her rearview mirror. Fearing for her safety, the witness said she pulled off to the side of the road to let the truck past.
A reconstruction of the crash determined that Gracey’s truck was traveling 76 miles per hours five seconds before the crash occurred.
Gracey is charged with homicide by vehicle while DUI, homicide by vehicle, driving under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, recklessly endangering another person, and several related traffic offenses, according to the criminal complaint.
