The life of Ryan M. Ebler, a 30-year-old man from Martinsville, Indiana, came to a sudden end Saturday morning after a dramatic, multi-state police pursuit ended in a violent crash on Interstate 64 in Franklin County, Kentucky. Authorities say the chase was tied to a homicide investigation unfolding hundreds of miles away in Georgia, turning a routine traffic stop attempt into a tragedy that shut down a major highway and left investigators searching for answers.
According to Kentucky State Police, the crash happened around 10 a.m. near Frankfort on the eastbound lanes of I-64. The impact was severe enough that both directions of the interstate were closed for several hours while debris was cleared and troopers carefully worked the scene. The coroner later confirmed Ebler died at the scene.
State police say the pursuit began after Kentucky authorities were alerted that a vehicle linked to a homicide suspect out of Georgia had been located. That investigation centered on a disturbing discovery earlier that morning in Dalton, Georgia, where firefighters responding to a house fire found the badly burned body of a woman inside a home on South Grimes Street.
The case quickly took a darker turn when investigators learned a family member had called police, reporting that her brother had confessed to killing his girlfriend at that same home. The woman was later identified by relatives as Crystal Scotten, though officials said formal identification was pending confirmation by the medical examiner. Her vehicle was also missing from the residence and was entered into a national database as stolen.
By about 9:30 a.m., Dalton investigators were notified that law enforcement in Kentucky had spotted the missing vehicle. Troopers, along with officers from the Berea Police Department, attempted to stop the car, but the driver refused to pull over. Police say the vehicle sped north on Interstate 75, reaching speeds over 100 miles per hour, before turning onto Interstate 64 toward Franklin County.
During the chase, troopers tried multiple times to stop the vehicle using tire deflation devices, but none were successful. Near the 50-mile marker on I-64, investigators say the driver lost control, crossed the median, and slammed into a tractor-trailer traveling in the opposite direction. The force of the collision was fatal.
Ebler was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the tractor-trailer was not injured, according to state police. No other vehicles were involved, but the crash left a wide debris field and stunned motorists who witnessed the aftermath.
Both investigations remain active. Kentucky State Police continue to examine the circumstances of the crash, while authorities in Georgia are pressing forward with the homicide and arson investigation connected to Crystal Scotten’s death. For now, officials say many questions remain unanswered, linking two states, two crime scenes, and one fatal ending on a busy stretch of Kentucky highway.
