Officer Killed by Drunk Driver: 'He Left Something Behind'

ROCKVILLE, MD — The parents of a Montgomery County Police officer killed one year ago when he was struck on Rockville Pike by a repeat drunk driver's car joined with other family members mourning the deaths of Maryland residents killed by impaired drivers.

Rich Leotta — father of fallen Montgomery County police officer Noah Leotta — and his wife, Marcie, shared their loss with others Thursday at the 13th annual Maryland Remembers Memorial in Annapolis. The annual event honors the lives of the hundreds of Maryland citizens killed by impaired drivers. From 2011 through 2015, an average of 160 people have died in impaired driving-related (alcohol and drug) crashes on Maryland’s roads and hundreds more are seriously injured, says the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration.

“I miss hearing his voice,” Rich Leotta said of his son, reports WTOP. “To get out the message, to talk about Noah, that helps. It doesn’t bring Noah back to me in that sense, but it does mean that he was here, he left something behind, he has a legacy.”

Officer Leotta, 24, was hit Dec. 3, 2015, by a car on Rockville Pike; he died a week later. The officer was working as part of an annual holiday task force fighting drunk driving at the time of the fatal accident. Prosecutors say the driver struck Leotta after a night that included heavy drinking at the Hooters restaurant in Rockville, which has since closed.

Luis Gustavo Reluzco, 47, of Olney, pleaded guilty to manslaughter by motor vehicle in Leotta’s death and was sentenced to serve 10 years in prison for manslaughter. Reluzco had been arrested twice before for drunk driving and has a previous conviction for drug possession.

Prosecutor Peter Feeney said in court that Reluzco was “completely obliterated” when his vehicle struck Leotta. Reluzco had also smoked marijuana and took Xanax before drinking at Hooters, WTOP reports.

Last weekend, two allegedly drunk drivers crashed into county police cars again working at DUI traffic stops, but luckily no injuries were reported.

Lobbying for Interlock Law

The slain officer’s parents, Rich Leotta and Marcia Goldman, spoke at a February 2016 news conference to urge passage of a bill named for their son that requries ignition interlocks.

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

The couple 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. The law in Noah’s name will help prevent such deaths in the future, state leaders said in May when Gov. Larry Hogan was joined by police officers, lawmakers and Leotta’s family as the governor signed SB 945, also known as Noah’s Law.

The General Assembly unanimously passed ‪the law on April 11 and it went into effect on Oct. 1.
SEE ALSO:

• Drunk Driver Pleads Guilty in Montgomery Officer's Death
• 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’

“Their son, Montgomery County Police Officer Noah Leotta, was killed in the line of duty as the result of a drunk driver,” Hogan said. “And thanks in large part to his family’s tireless efforts, today we are signing Noah’s Law, which will require ignition interlock devices for anyone convicted of drunk driving in Maryland. I’m very proud to have supported this bill.”

Montgomery County Police Chief Thomas Manger in January 2016 denounced the drunk-driving suspect in the officer’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.”

"With this legislation, Officer Leotta will save hundreds of lives. We all stand behind Noah's Law," said Manger said in May.
»Photo of Officer Noah Leotta courtesy of Montgomery County Police, along with photo of Police Chief Tom Manger and parents Rich Leotta and Marcia Goldman