By Tim Binnall
Nebraska authorities have made an arrest in the bizarre case of a proverbial highway phantom who mysteriously offered help to multiple motorists at different traffic accidents that he is now accused of having caused. The odd series of incidents made headlines late last year when a local TV station reported on three separate instances wherein drivers in the community of Bennington ran over sizeable objects in the road and, upon tending to their vehicle, were approached by the same man at the scene. The puzzling pattern understandably raised suspicions among the motorists and police as did a particularly weird twist in the case that suggested something unusual was afoot.
After sharing the strange story with their viewers, the local TV station received a call from someone claiming to be one of the drivers and demanding that they remove their segment on the accidents. Police subsequently executed a search warrant at the residence of an individual believed to be connected with the case. However, nothing seemed to come of their visit until Monday when the highway phantom may have finally been unmasked. Following a three-month-long investigation, cops reportedly arrested Spencer Rademacker for felony criminal mischief and attempted first-degree assault, charges that could send him to prison for a staggering 22 years if convicted.
As for what may have been behind the young man's alleged actions, Douglas County Sheriff Aaron Hanson attributed his motivation to an unsettling form of voyeurism akin to that of an arsonist. "We assume that he likes to watch the accidents. Be the first one on the scene to render aid and to see the first responders respond," the officer explained, noting that the debris left on the highway "almost got someone killed and it could have gotten multiple people killed." The Nebraska highway phantom case is not an isolated phenomenon as an eerily similar case occurred in Massachusetts in the summer of 2023 wherein a man was arrested for allegedly placing boulders in a road so that he could watch cars crash into them.