Glenville sprint-car driver charged in fatal Codorus Twp. crash

A Glenville-area race-car driver is free on bail, accused of driving drunk when he crashed his pickup truck last fall, killing live-in girlfriend Ambre Rheinhardt.

Todd Anthony Gracey's blood-alcohol level after the fatal crash was 0.243 percent, police said, which is three times the legal limit. In Pennsylvania, an adult is driving drunk at 0.08 percent.

Gracey, 50, of the 6300 block of Saint Johns Road in Manheim Township, is charged with the felonies of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence and homicide by vehicle; the misdemeanors of DUI and reckless endangerment; and the summary offenses of tailgating, driving at an unsafe speed, failing to stay in his lane, careless driving, reckless driving, careless driving causing an unintentional death and failing to wear a seat belt.

Gracey was arraigned Monday, April 16, by District Judge Thomas Reilly, who set Gracey's bail at $30,000 unsecured. That means Gracey didn't have to post any money to remain free but could forfeit that amount if he misses any court dates.

His preliminary hearing is set for May 2, according to court records.

Gracey is a well-known local sprint-car racer.

Crashed into tree: The crash happened at 7:11 p.m. Oct. 1, 2017, on Blooming Grove Road, just east of Glenville Road in Codorus Township, according to state police.

Gracey was driving his Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck west when it went off the right side of the road.

Gracey over-corrected, causing him to lose control of the pickup, which crossed over the eastbound lane and slammed into a tree head-on, police said.

The pickup rolled after hitting the tree and ended up on its roof in the middle of the westbound lane of Blooming Grove Road, according to police.

An accident reconstruction determined the pickup was going 76 mph five seconds prior to crashing, according to charging documents.

Neither Gracey nor Rheinhardt was wearing a seat belt, documents state.

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Witness pulled over: Another driver in the area told troopers that just prior to the crash, the pickup "had been tailgating her so closely that she could not see the Silverado's headlamps in her rearview mirror," documents state.

The witness told troopers she pulled off the road so the pickup could pass her because she was concerned for her children's safety and her own, according to police.

There was debris scattered throughout the crash scene, including Bud Light beer cans, charging documents allege, and troopers found more Bud Light beer cans inside the wrecked pickup.

Gracey was flown from the crash scene to York Hospital by medical helicopter with life-threatening injuries, police said.

Rheinhardt, formerly of West Virginia, was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.

Reached by phone Tuesday, Gracey declined comment.

— Reach Liz Evans Scolforo at levans@yorkdispatch.com or on Twitter at @LizScolforoYD.