One year after a driver struck and severely injured a police officer, Montgomery County officials are working with state representatives on a legislative proposal that would impose more severe penalties for reckless driving.
“You should not be able to drive at outrageous speeds and go free because we can’t chase you,” County Executive Marc Elrich said at his weekly media briefing Wednesday. “There’s got to be a way to prevent senseless accidents like this. And it’s not fair to the innocent people who get injured or killed on our roadways. These lunatics create accidents.”
The proposed legislation, expected to be introduced during the Maryland General Assembly session that begins in January, would call for changes to the state’s criminal and traffic codes, such as adding vehicle behavior to reckless endangerment charges and requiring defendants charged with reckless driving to appear in court.
Elrich’s call for harsher punishment comes nearly a year after the Oct. 18, 2023, collision on I-270 that caused Sgt. Patrick Kepp to lose both of his legs after he was allegedly struck by a vehicle driven by Raphael Mayorga, 19, of Frederick.
Mayorga was charged with attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault and causing life-threatening injuries. He is being held at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Boyds. His trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 28.
According to Elrich, Mayorga had multiple prior charges for speeding and aggressive driving.
What happened?
In the early morning incident, Kepp was one of the officers trying to pull over Mayorga, whom police suspected of being under the influence, according to authorities. Police said Mayorga was trying to goad officers into a chase.
Driving a green Dodge Charger and traveling from Clarksburg, Mayorga allegedly entered and exited I-270 repeatedly, driving at least 110 mph and almost running another driver off the road, former police Chief Marcus Jones said at a November press briefing.
Kepp got out of his patrol car on the highway to deploy stop sticks, which are used to deflate tires. While Kepp was placing the stop sticks, Mayorga allegedly drove the Charger into him, according to police. The collision occurred between Watkins Mill Road and north of Middlebrook Road near exit 13.
“The vehicle [was] observed intentionally moving from the middle lanes to the far-left lanes and coming directly at Sgt. Kepp as he was deploying the stop sticks,” Jones said.
After allegedly striking Kepp, Mayorga continued northbound on I-270 until another officer successfully deployed more stop sticks, forcing the vehicle to stop, according to police. Police arrested Mayorga at the scene.
Other officers performed life-saving measures on Kepp until Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service crews and medical transport arrived. A helicopter ferried Kepp to the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore.
Kepp: Add ‘more teeth to laws’
In an interview with MoCo360 months into his recovery, Kepp recalled “time slowing down” during the collision, touching his right leg and immediately seeing the bloody aftermath.
On Dec. 7, Kepp wheeled himself out of the shock trauma center with doctors, nurses and first responders lining the hallways to celebrate the recovery milestone. Afterward, Kepp was escorted by police motorcade to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda for physical rehabilitation.
In the late December interview, Kepp said he looked forward to advocating for passing laws about reckless driving.
“It’s about adding more teeth to laws that we have and adding new laws for situations like this,” Kepp said.
Nearly a year later, Kepp is doing just that, according to Earl Stoddard, the county’s assistant chief administrative officer. Kepp did not attend the session.
Stoddard said during Wednesday’s briefing session that he had met with Kepp that morning to discuss the proposed legislation. “He and I will be presenting to the Maryland State’s Attorney’s Association on Monday in an effort to glean their support for the legislation that we’re going to be pursuing in Annapolis.”
According to Stoddard, Kepp has been “heavily involved” in advocating for the changes. “He’s back and trying to help Montgomery County move forward,” he said.
Kepp is back at work on a “limited basis,” advising officers and sharing his expertise on cases involving driving under the influence, according to Elrich. He has also been working with the county’s Alcohol Beverage Services to help prevent the sale of alcohol to minors, Elrich said.
Stoddard explained that within the reckless endangerment charge, there is a prohibition that excludes vehicle behavior from being included. County officials want to eliminate that exclusion.
“[The exclusion] was done 50-plus years ago,” Stoddard said. “No legislative record that we or anyone in Annapolis can find explains why that carve out was made for you can’t have reckless endangerment.”
Stoddard said officials also will be pushing for defendants facing reckless driving charges to be required to appear in court and have a judge review their cases to determine if additional penalties should be assessed.
“What that means is, right now, you can just pay a fine, and irrespective of how dangerous your behavior is, you can just pay a fine and get some points and continue to do exactly what you’ve been doing,” Stoddard said.
