Berks man sentenced in crash that killed his 1-year-old son

Jan. 16—A Wyomissing man has been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty in a crash that killed his 1-year-old son and seriously injured another toddler, neither of whom was in a child seat.

Isaiah M. Rakiem, 23, of the 700 block of Old Mill Road was charged in July with vehicular homicide following an eight-month investigation of the November 2022 crash in the Centre Park section of Reading.

He pleaded guilty Thursday in Berks County Court to homicide by vehicle, endangering the welfare of children and aggravated assault by vehicle.

Judge Eleni Dimitriou Geishauser sentenced him to 11 1/2 to 23 months in the county prison. Rakiem had been out on bail and was taken into custody after sentencing.

Rakiem was driving almost 75 mph in a 30 mph zone when he struck another vehicle, police said. He was also driving with a suspended license, police said.

According to the probable cause affidavit:

The two-vehicle crash occurred Nov. 19, 2022, about 10 p.m. at Oley Street and Centre Avenue.

An SUV driven by Ebrima G. Jarjusey, 46, of Reading was westbound on Oley Street when it collided with a pickup truck driven southbound on Centre Avenue by Rakiem.

Jarjusey, who was the lone occupant of the SUV, suffered leg injuries and was taken by ambulance to Reading Hospital.

The pickup truck had seven occupants: Rakiem; three women; and three children, ages 1, 2 and 11.

The 1-year-old, Mikaal Rahiem-Soto of Wyomissing, was later pronounced dead at the scene. The 2-year-old suffered what appeared to be serious injuries, and an 11-year-old girl was treated in Reading Hospital for minor injuries.

Both vehicles sustained heavy front-end damage. Officers secured the crash scene as a crime scene.

City police asked for assistance from the state police crash construction unit.

When police checked the interior of the pickup truck, they did not find a child safety seat, nor was one anywhere at the crash scene.

Police interviewed occupants of both vehicles and learned the 1-year-old boy was one of four passengers riding in the back seat of the extended cab of the Jeep Gladiator pickup truck. The seat was designed for three passengers with restraint systems.

Rahiem-Soto and the 2-year-old girl were the middle passengers in the back seat.

Rakiem told police that he was driving southbound on Centre Avenue through the intersection. The SUV, which had a stop sign, proceeded into the intersection and struck the truck in the southeast travel lane of Centre Avenue.

Investigators obtained security camera footage of the crash. It showed the SUV stopped briefly at the stop sign on Oley Street before proceeding into the intersection.

Although Rakiem had the right-of-way, he was speeding. Investigators determined the pickup truck was traveling 43 mph over the 30 mph posted speed limit.

They said the lack of proper restraints — the only child safety seat found at the scene was in the covered bed of the truck —contributed to the death of Rahiem-Soto and serious injuries to the 2-year-old.

The pathologist who performed the autopsy determined Rahiem-Soto died of chest injuries. The coroner's office ruled the manner of death a homicide.