WASHINGTON POST: The officer suffered devastating leg injuries but was ‘alert and talking’ by Wednesday evening, officials say.
A 19-year-old with a history of high-speed and reckless driving purposely swerved into a Montgomery County police officer on Interstate 270 on Wednesday morning, nearly killing the officer who had gotten out of his cruiser to set up tire-piercing “stop sticks” to slow the driver down, according to police officials.The officer, Sgt. Patrick Kepp, 36, “has lost the use of both of his legs,” said Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones, calling him “really just a phenomenal person.”Kepp was taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland at Baltimore, according to a police union official.“He is not alone,” Jones said, “and he is surrounded by his family, his friends, and his co-workers.”Raphael Mayorga, of Frederick, had been driving faster than 110 mph in the moments before the collision, Jones said. Mayorga continued driving after striking Kepp but was stopped a short time later by another officer who deployed stop sticks, Jones said.Mayorga was charged with first-degree attempted murder and was being held Wednesday evening at the Montgomery County Detention Center. It was not clear if he had retained an attorney.“He intentionally struck Sgt. Kepp,” Jones said, adding that the officer had been “willing to put himself in harm’s way in order to try to get this guy off the street.”Mayorga is expected to make his first court appearance Thursday.His driving immediately before the collision, as described by Jones, mirrored earlier cases detailed in Montgomery County District Court records.
