Montgomery County police Sgt. Patrick Kepp and other officers knew of Frederick’s Raphael Mayorga long before Mayorga allegedly drove a car into Kepp in October 2023, causing Kepp to lose his legs. Mayorga had been cited multiple times for reckless driving in the area.
So why was he still on the road on that night in October?
“There were no appropriate charges that applied,” Kepp told members of the Environment and Transportation Committee of the Maryland General Assembly House of Delegates in Annapolis during a hearing Thursday on proposed legislation to increase penalties for reckless driving.
Mayorga, now 21, is expected to stand trial in April in Montgomery County Circuit Court on multiple charges including attempted murder, assault, causing life-threatening injuries and eluding a police officer, according to digital court records.
Five months before he was struck, Kepp said he arrested Mayorga in May 2023 for several traffic citations, including driving 136 mph on I-270 and reckless driving. Kepp said during Thursday’s hearing that Mayorga was well-known to the county police force as “a menace on county roads.”
Kepp, who works in traffic enforcement for the department, noted that reckless drivers do not seem deterred by the state’s limited penalties for such traffic violations.
The lack of teeth behind the penalties led Montgomery County Sen. Nancy King (D-Dist. 39) and Del. Greg Wims (D-Dist. 39) to sponsor legislation in the General Assembly that would impose stricter punishments on reckless drivers.
“[Mayorga] had been stopped many times, but since the penalties are so low, he ignored the law,” Wims told fellow lawmakers Thursday.
The proposed legislation, which is cross-filed in the House and Senate, would increase the number of points placed on a person’s driver’s license if the person is found to be driving recklessly. It also would change the state’s definition of reckless driving to include speeding at a rate of 30 mph or more above the posted speed limit. Drivers charged with reckless driving could face up to 60 days in prison in addition to a fine of up to $1,000.
Kepp, who returned to work at the police department in June 2024, said reckless drivers whom he stops in the I-270 area are often relieved to find that Maryland traffic laws aren’t as strict as those in Virginia, where reckless drivers could be subject to jail time in addition to fines.
“These changes [in the legislation would] directly enable law enforcement to bring in extremely dangerous drivers in front of the judicial system, where judge can ensure the appropriate sanctions and intervention tools are used,” Kepp said.
He told lawmakers the legislation was not about dwelling on what happened to him, but about making change.
“I want to reinforce that this bill is not to address the actions of my crash but rather [to] enable law enforcement to prevent further tragedy and this happening to someone else,” Kepp said.
Members of the House Environment and Transportation Committee applauded Kepp following his testimony.
Montgomery County Councilmember Dawn Luedtke (D-Dist. 7) also spoke Thursday in support of the legislation. She said she is concerned that existing laws don’t focus enough on preventing reckless driving behavior.
“There is a gap between the penalty and actually addressing the behavior. You can simply write a check and never have to go to court [under current law],” Luedtke said. “The point of this [legislation] is not to be punitive, it’s to be corrective.”
Montgomery County Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Earl Stoddard also spoke in support, noting the legislation is needed to penalize drivers who disregard existing laws.
“Some drivers continue to show a wanton and reckless disregard for current legal consequences and even basic standards of safety,” Stoddard said. “These limited number of drivers actively seek to [provoke] police chases and travel at speeds in vast excess of legal limits flagrantly or repetitively.”
Both bills are pending second readings and committee votes.
