Nearly two months after Harford accident, Ed Norris returns to the airwaves

Nearly two months after he was injured in an accident with his motorcycle in northern Harford County, popular Baltimore radio personality Ed Norris returned to the airways Wednesday morning.

Norris was back in his familiar slot on the Norris & Davis Show on 105.7 The Fan, a popular morning sports talk show.

"I'm happy to be alive; it could have been much worse – a quarter-inch here, a quarter inch there," Norris told his co-host Steve Davis, as the two talked shortly before 6:30 about Norris' accident and recuperation.

Norris said he underwent major shoulder surgery, and Davis noted his broadcast partner's arm remains immobilized. Norris said he can't do things he likes, such as riding his motorcycle, jujitsu or drawing his hunting bow, and his doctors have given no timetable for his full recovery. "Could be a long time, could be a little," he said.

Norris described his time spent away from work as "horrible," and said he learned quite a bit about valuing every minute of life. "Your first thought is you want to see your wife and son," he said about the moments following his accident.

On the afternoon of April 24, Norris, 53, was driving his Victory motorcycle north on Route 1, just south of the intersection with Route 161 (Main Street) in Darlington when, according to the Maryland State Police accident report, a GMC box truck driven by Dedrick Jamal McClain, of Windsor Mill, made a left turn into Route 1 from Route 161 and into the path of Norris and his motorcycle.

The report says Norris laid his motorcycle down on the pavement "in an attempt not to strike" the truck. There was no contact between the vehicles, but Norris suffered abrasions and injuries to his arm and shoulder, according to Maryland State Police who investigated. He was flown to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore primarily as a precaution, State Police said at the time.

Although he was released from Shock Trauma a few days after the accident, Norris had to return to the hospital later for the shoulder surgery.

McClain, 31, was charged with failing to yield the right of way and pleaded guilty in Harford County District Court on June 6, according to online court records. He was fined $110, although the court record indicates he did not contribute to an accident.

Norris, a former Baltimore City police commissioner and former Maryland State Police superintendent, did not return a message left on his cell phone Wednesday.

This story has been updated to reflect a correction in the age for Ed Norris.