Accused Drunk Driver Indicted in Montgomery Officer's Death

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ROCKVILLE, MD — The alleged drunk driver accused of fatally striking a Montgomery County Police officer – while he was working as part of a holiday task force fighting drunk driving – has been indicted on a manslaughter charge.

Officer Noah Leotta, 24, was hit Dec. 3 by a car during a traffic stop on Rockville Pike; he died a week later. Suspect Luis Gustavo Reluzco, 47, of Olney, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

Reluzco was arrested twice before for drunk driving and a previous conviction for drug possession.

Reluzco turned himself in to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Thursday afternoon following the grand jury’s indictment, police said. Reluzco was charged with manslaughter by automobile and failure to move over for an emergency vehicle on a highway.

Montgomery County Police Chief Thomas Manger last month denounced the drunk-driving suspect in Leotta’s death, along with what he called Maryland’s weak laws that do little to punish offenders.

“(Leotta) was killed by a man who decided to smoke some dope, drink for four hours and get behind the wheel of a car,” Manger said. “This officer was killed serving the public, trying to prevent the exact crime that killed him.”

SEE ALSO:

• Officer’s Funeral: Procession Images, Video
• Police Chief Denounces ‘Drunk Driver,’ State’s Weak Laws
• Dram Shop Law Needed to Deter Drunk Drivers: Leggett
• Slain Officer’s Parents Lobby for ‘Noah’s Law’

Leotta’s grieving parents traveled to the Maryland statehouse Wednesday to ask for a stricter law regulating convicted drunk drivers, like the man accused of fatally hitting their son.

Rich Leotta and Marcia Goldman, were at Wednesday news conference and still visibly shaken from the loss of their son.

“My dreams are gone, I can’t get him back…I don’t want my son forgotten,” Rich Leotta said.

They joined state delegates and representatives of Mothers Against Drunk Driving in urging lawmakers to expand mandatory ignition interlocks to all drunken driving offenders in Maryland.

»Photo of suspect Luis Gustavo Reluzco, courtesy of Montgomery County Police