On April 5, 2024, Michael Edward Ebert, a 53-year-old resident of Sykesville, Maryland, was sentenced to serve 3 years in the Division of Corrections after being convicted causing life threatening injury while operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol. The Honorable Brian D. Shockley of the Worcester County Circuit Court imposed the sentence, suspending all but 1 year of active incarceration and placing Ebert on 5 years of supervised probation upon release.
The charges arose out of a single motorcycle crash on westbound Route 50 in Whaleyville, Maryland on September 14, 2022. Maryland State Police troopers arrived on scene and located 2 individuals with significant head trauma and bodily injury lying on the pavement in front of a motorcycle. One of the individuals was Ebert, determined to be the owner and operator of the motorcycle, and the other was identified as Ebert’s female passenger. First responders from Berlin EMS noted the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from Ebert before both individuals were transported by helicopter to Johns Hopkins for medical treatment.
The hospital conducted a drug and alcohol screening upon Ebert’s arrival, which revealed that his blood alcohol content was more than .12. Maryland State Police Crash Team investigators determined that Ebert’s motorcycle had traveled off the roadway and into the center median, which caused the footrest to hit the ground, causing the motorcycle to slide on its side, traveling for approximately 50 feet, ejecting both riders. The female passenger suffered several critical injuries, including a broken left shoulder, broken rib, a punctured lung, partial paralysis and loss of hearing in one ear, severe cranial. These injuries required in-patient treatment at the hospital and critical after- care services for an extensive period of time.
Worcester County State’s Attorney Kris Heiser commended the Maryland State Police for their thorough investigative work and thanked the Crash Team for their detailed analysis of the scene. Heiser also thanked Assistant State's Attorney Pamela Correa who prosecuted the case.
