APPLE VALLEY, Minn. (FOX 9) - St. Cloud Police Officer Ryan Ebert, 44, who was with the department 18 years, died at the hospital days after he was involved in a crash while off-duty.
St. Cloud police officer dies after off-duty crash
Big picture view:
The crash happened just before 10 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 13, when a truck that Ebert was driving collided with a transit bus and cable barrier, according to a Minnesota State Patrol (MSP) crash report.
The report states this happened in the northbound lanes of Highway 77, just south of Interstate 35E, in Apple Valley.
The St. Cloud Police Department said Officer Ebert was then hospitalized at Hennepin County Medical Center, where staff determined his injuries were not survivable.
The department then released a statement on Saturday, Oct. 18, saying Officer Ebert died that morning and "continued serving others" by "donating his organs as his final act."
The driver of the bus, a 65-year-old man, was treated for non-life-threatening injuries, according to the MSP crash report.
St. Cloud police chief responds
What they're saying:
The MSP crash report states that alcohol was a factor in Officer Ebert's involvement in the crash and that he was not wearing a seat belt.
St. Cloud Police Chief Jeff Oxton released a statement in response to the crash report, saying Officer Ebert "had a very small or trace-amount of alcohol in his system, significantly below that which would ever lead to a person being considered impaired or driving under the influence."
Chief Oxton's statement continued, saying, "For all of us devastated by this tragic accident, it is important that the cause of the accident not be judged prematurely, before the final State Patrol Investigation is complete and all the information is known and available. It should be clarified that for legal reasons, the State Patrol did not have access to these medical records, and they were only obtained for the purpose of this media release through authorization of Ryan’s family members."
What we don't know:
Authorities say the final results of the Minnesota State Patrol crash report are still pending.
The Source: This story uses information shared in news releases from the St. Cloud Police Department and a crash report from the Minnesota State Patrol.