Was Halsey dead the whole time and The Hitcher an angel of death?

I was actually expecting that to be the twist after The Hitcher put the pennies over Halsey's eyelids in the diner. In ancient Greek tradition, they would put coins over the eyelids of the dead to pay the toll to be ferried to the land of the dead.

The ending leaves it somewhat ambiguous but it makes a bit of sense as a theory.

Halsey runs into the Hitcher immediately after almost slamming into a truck. Once picked up, The Hitcher threatens him with a knife asks him to say "I want to die." Halsey refuses and escapes. Throughout the rest of the movie, The Hitcher doesn't seem particularly interested in killing him-- at least not directly. It seems more like he's trying break his spirits or test him.

It would help explain The Hitcher's supernatural abilities. He always knows where to find Halsey, he can hear Halsey whisper in a soundproof room, and he can set up contrived scenarios even if it involves killing multiple armed cops with a switchblade. Oh, and he can find the perfect time to slip a severed finger into a side of fries.

My theory is that Halsey died in the truck accident and The Hitcher was trying to get him to release his grip on life so he could pass on from purgatory. It just had to be Halsey's decision to give up. Speaking of wild theories, I've heard some Christians espouse that the desert wandering in Exodus was actually a metaphor for purgatory and this movie is set in a desert.

At the end, Hauer tosses down a set of chains and handcuffs. Perhaps that was meant to symbolize that Halsey was free of The Hitcher-- or perhaps that was meant to symbolize that he was now shackled to his decision to stay in purgatory.

Or it could have just been a dumb but entertaining movie that took a lot of inspiration from Duel. What do you think?