The driver who struck and killed Whidbey resident David Harder on the streets of Seattle two years ago pleaded guilty in a deal that resolved cases in both King and Snohomish counties.
Under the terms of the plea bargain, both the prosecution and defense will recommend that the defendant, Payton L. Maddy, receive 10 years behind bars during a June 11 sentencing hearing.
The case made regional news because Maddy had been in Snohomish County jail after being arrested in an earlier vehicular assault case with eerily similar circumstances, but a judge released him pending trial due to COVID-19. Jail populations across the state were significantly reduced during the pandemic to slow the spread of the disease.
A Snohomish County deputy prosecutor told King-5 News that he had argued against releasing Maddy because of his history of violent crime and non-compliance with court orders. Court records show that Maddy’s prior criminal and traffic history include 11 charges, including attempting to elude, theft, assault and a drug crime. He has failed to appear for court hearings 43 times since 2013.
On May 25, Maddy pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and felony hit and run in the May 20, 2020 death of Harder. In addition, he pleaded guilty to vehicular assault and felony hit and run in the May 2, 2018 Snohomish County case.
Harder worked as a security guard for Seattle Public Schools for 25 years and was both well known and well respected. Staff at the district said he had the ability to relate to students and especially to get through to troubled kids.
“To his lifelong friends, he was Superman, Batman and Spiderman all rolled into one,” his daughter, Rachel, wrote in a heartfelt obituary about her “Papa” in the Whidbey News-Times.
“Papa was my best friend, the only role model I ever needed,” she wrote. “Papa was part of my entire life, whether I needed it or not. I know that he changed people’s opinions of the world, including my mom. He showed her that the world is incredibly beautiful if you open yourself up to it.”
Harder’s wife, Karen, told TV news that her husband was an avid outdoorsman and a world traveler, often accompanied by his daughter.
“He looked at life like no one I’ve ever met, ever,” she said. “He just went out there and did it.”
A 2020 report by a Seattle detective describes Maddy driving “in a rash and heedless manner, indifferent to the consequences” while trying to avoid contact by a police officer in north Seattle. The police officer briefly pursued Maddy after he nearly caused an accident but stopped the chase to discourage him from continuing to drive dangerously.
Soon afterward, however, the officer found that Maddy had collided with Harder’s motorcycle at an intersection. The police report states that Maddy drove directly into the side of the motorcycle and then ran from the scene as 61-year-old Harder lay on the ground, fatally injured.
Police found Maddy hiding in a shed soon afterward. He admitted to officers that he had injected heroin earlier.
In the Snohomish County case, a motorcycle deputy pulled Maddy’s car over for expired tabs on May 2, 2018. Maddy gave the name of his twin brother and drove off while the deputy was doing a radio check. Maddy sped through a stop sign, lost control after nearly colliding with a truck and struck an oncoming Hyundai nearly head-on. The passenger in the car suffered two broken ribs.
Maddy ran away from the scene of the crash. An officer contacted his brother the next day and realized he wasn’t the suspect. Maddy was identified from DNA taken from ear pieces left inside his car.
