Updated – 10:15 a.m., Monday, Dec. 7 – A Montgomery County police officer who was struck by a vehicle Thursday night while conducting a traffic stop on Rockville Pike remains in critical condition Monday morning at a Bethesda hospital after suffering life-threatening injuries in the incident.
Twenty-four-year-old officer Noah Leotta has been with the department since January 2013. He is assigned to the 4th District, which is based in Wheaton.
Police spokeswoman Natasha Plotnikov said Monday that Leotta is breathing on his own and in a coma and that his condition did not worsen over the weekend. Plotnikov said the officer suffered a serious head injury when he was struck by the vehicle. A line of Montgomery County police vehicles could be seen parked outside Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, where Leotta is being treated.
"People are constantly going there to provide support to his family," Plotnikov said.
Police said Leotta was working as a member of the Holiday Task Force and conducting a traffic stop on Rockville Pike near the intersection with Edmonston Drive at 9:47 p.m. Leotta was outside of his vehicle standing in the northbound curb lane when he was struck by a 2012 Honda CRV, police reported. The CRV also struck Leotta's cruiser.
Police identified the driver of the CRV as Luis Gustavo Reluzco, 47, of Rolling Meadow Way in Olney. Reluzco remained at the scene after the collision and police took him into custody under the suspicion that he may have been under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Police conducted a blood test on Reluzco and are awaiting the results of the test.
Plotnikov said Monday police have not yet received the results and that it typically takes about a week for police to receive the results.
The task force was working to detect alcohol-related offenses during the holiday season. Leotta served as an intern at the department before becoming an officer, police said.
"Noah is not only a dedicated young police office, he is a caring person who became a cop to serve the community where he grew up," Police Chief Tom Manger said in a public statement. "He needs everyone's prayers as he fights for his life."
