Driver who fled cops and killed NJ biker sentenced for aggravated manslaughter

🔴 A Pennsylvania man goes to prison for killing a beloved Hackettstown man.

🔴 The driver fled a traffic stop at nearly 100 mph before slamming into a motorcycle.

🔴 The victim was a Vietnam War veteran and Harley-Davidson enthusiast.

HOPE — A Pennsylvania driver who killed a beloved New Jersey veteran in a crash has been sentenced to nearly two decades in state prison.

On Friday, Sean Mamakas, 34, of Kempton, Pa., was sentenced to 18 years in Superior Court in Warren County. He must serve more than 15 years before he is eligible for parole.

According to Warren County prosecutors, Mamakas pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated manslaughter.

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Authorities said Mamakas caused a fatal crash in Hope on Aug. 13, 2024.

Mamakas fled from a State Police trooper during an attempted traffic stop. Within two minutes, he crashed into a motorcycle and killed Michael J. Ceddia, Jr., of Hackettstown.

Video released by police shows fatal crash

Dashcam video footage released by the Attorney General's Office shows the trooper on I-80 East following Mamakas's SUV for several minutes before turning on his police lights.

After the red and blue lights started flashing, Mamakas sped off and used the shoulder to go around several vehicles. To keep up with Mamakas, the trooper's vehicle reached 96 mph.

Mamakas got off the highway at Exit 12 and headed south on County Road 521 in Hope. The small town of 1,800 people is located just miles away from the Delaware River in North Jersey.

Within seconds, Mamakas went around another SUV and rear-ended the motorcycle that Ceddia was riding.

Ceddia was thrown from the bike while Mamakas's SUV went into a nearby tree line.

Biker mourned and remembered as a great man

According to his obituary, Ceddia was a grandfather and was 76 years old when he was killed.

He graduated from Hackettstown High School and enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He served in the Vietnam War and later joined VFW Post #7859 and the Hackettstown Legion.

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Ceddia, also known as Slink, also had a love for Harley-Davidson motorcycles and joined the Antique Motorcycle Club of America.

"He was a great man and a great figure in the biker world," Bob Ringler, a longtime friend, said to WFMZ-TV.

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