York County fatal crash suspect pleads guilty to manslaughter in road rage death
A South Carolina SUV driver has pleaded guilty to manslaughter after claiming a motorcyclist gave him a middle finger gesture before a road rage crash in 2019 that left the cyclist dead.
Joseph Anthony Rufo, 45, of Lancaster, agreed to a plea deal of voluntary manslaughter Friday in York County court in the death of Dedrick Strain. Rufo agreed to a sentence of six years in prison as part of the guilty plea, lawyers in the case and York County Judge Dan Hall said in court. Sentencing was deferred until Nov. 29.
Prosecutors dropped a murder charge against Rufo as part of the plea agreement. Manslaughter is defined under South Carolina law as the “killing of another person without malice.” Voluntary manslaughter carries up to 30 years in prison for a conviction.
Suspect claims middle finger gesture by victim
Strain, 25, of Lancaster, was on a motorcycle when he was killed on July 3, 2019 on U.S. 21 south of Rock Hill, 16th Circuit Senior Solicitor Matthew Shelton said.
Several witnesses saw the crash, Shelton said in court.
Rufo abruptly passed Strain, then swerved back in front of Strain and braked, causing the crash, Shelton said in court. Strain, a father and husband, lost control of his motorcycle when it crashed into Rufo’s truck and was slammed against a guard rail, Shelton said.
Rufo claimed to S.C. Highway Patrol troopers Strain gave Rufo a middle finger gesture before the crash, Shelton said in court.
“He (Rufo) claimed Mr. Strain flipped him off and (Strain) patted his saddle bags as if he had a gun,” Shelton said in court. “One of the eyewitnesses would have testified that Mr. Rufo said, ‘You didn’t see what he (Strain) did, he had it coming.’ ”
Rufo also claimed to police he braked in front of Strain because of other traffic, Shelton said in court. But several witnesses who saw the collision refuted that claim, Shelton said.
Sentencing set
Rufo did not speak in court Friday other than to plead guilty to manslaughter. His lawyers, Jeff Zuschke and Phil Smith of the York County Public Defender’s Office, said in court they agreed with the decision for Rufo to plead guilty to manslaughter.
Rufo had been free on bail pending trial since late 2019. Rufo will remain free on bond until a sentencing hearing in court Nov. 29, Judge Hall said in court.
