By Police1 Staff
OLNEY, Md. — A Montgomery County police officer is in critical condition after being struck by a vehicle while on a DUI enforcement assignment, The Washington Post reported.
Officer Noah Leotta was returning to his cruiser after a traffic stop on Dec. 4 when a 2012 Honda CRV slammed into the driver’s side of the cruiser. The driver kept going after striking Leotta.
Leotta was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.
“He is fighting,” Capt. Tom Didone said to the publication. “He is in literally the fight of his life.”
The 47-year-old driver of the Honda CRV, Luis Gustavo Reluzco, was detained by police for suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
“This is a nightmare,” Didone told the news site. “You send officers out there — the very people they are trying to remove from the roads end up hurting them. This kid is the prototype of the police officer you want.”
The department has asked the community to keep Leotta in their thoughts and prayers.