Berlin Police Probe Main Street Pedestrian Accident

BERLIN– An accident on Main Street in Berlin on Christmas Eve left a local man with significant injuries.

Keith Raffensberger, an Ocean City father of five, was walking on Main Street after leaving DiFebo’s Restaurant when he was struck by a vehicle just before 1 a.m. on Dec. 24. Police received a call regarding an unconscious subject in the roadway and responded to find Raffensberger and the individuals who’d called 911.

Raffensberger was taken to Pensinsula Regional Medical Center and then Shock Trauma in Baltimore where police said he was in “serious but stable” condition.

“While en route to the hospital, Mr. Raffensberger regained conscious and advised paramedics that he had been struck by a vehicle,” reads a statement from the Berlin Police Department.

Officers then reviewed downtown video footage and 911 logs.

“The investigation led us back to the 911 caller who inferred that he may have been in the vehicle when Mr. Raffensberger was struck,” the release reads. “After several interviews, the driver of vehicle admitted feeling a bump and turning to see something in the roadway.  The pair (driver & passenger) returned to find Mr. Raffensberger injured in the roadway and contacted 911 and stayed until help arrived.”

Police Chief Arnold Downing said the vehicle was currently being processed and that anyone with information was urged to call police at 410-641-1333. He said it was too early to say whether charges would be filed because police still needed to interview the victim and determine what happened. He stressed that the incident didn’t qualify as a hit-and-run.

“In a hit-and-run you have to leave the scene and not render aid,” he said.

Raffensberger’s wife reported that he’d suffered a broken femur, broken shoulder blade and broken ribs. She provided friends with an update on Facebook Tuesday.

“Keith is out of surgery and is doing well,” Renee Raffensberger wrote. “They put a rod and multiple pins in his femur through his knee. He is very bruised and obviously sore. Unfortunately, nothing can be done for broken ribs and shoulder blades except time. He also has abrasions from either the pavement or the vehicle. He is, though, in good spirits and joking and laughing in true Keith fashion!”

She said doctors hoped to send him home this week.

“The doc said he must have gotten hit really hard because his femur was smashed pretty good…” she wrote. “With all that being said, he was very lucky because it could have been much worse. There aren’t any internal injuries or bleeding and miraculously no head or neck injuries.”

The connections of DiFebo’s expressed their concern online as well and said that anyone interested in sending him a card could do so through the restaurant.

“We are so thankful and blessed Keith is on the mend,” they wrote. “He has a LONG road of recovery in front of him.”

About The Author: Charlene Sharpe

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Charlene Sharpe has been with The Dispatch since 2014. A graduate of Stephen Decatur High School and the University of Richmond, she spent seven years with the Delmarva Media Group before joining the team at The Dispatch.