Officer Injured After Drunken Driver Hits Police Car

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Police say a Maryland officer was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries after his police car was hit by a drunken driver.

Morris Moody faces numerous charges for the accident that opens a painful wound for the Montgomery County police community.

Police tell WJZ's Pat Warren Moody was drunk, and if found guilty, may be among the first to feel the effects of Noah's Law.

The Montgomery County officer Matthew Runkles was answering an accident call and about to get out of his car on Saturday, when his cruiser was rear-ended by a 1995 Mercedes S500.

Police say Moody, a 65-year-old Silver Springs man, blew a .17 after consenting to a breath test. The legal limit in Maryland is .08.

This crash calls to mind the 2015 death of Montgomery County officer Noah Leotta, who was on duty at a drunk driving checkpoint, when he was hit and killed by a drunk driver.

This may be among the first applications of Noah's Law, which is named in Leotta's honor.

Through the tireless efforts of his father, Rich, and dedicated supporters, Noah's Law took effect in Maryland in October.

A part of Maryland 97 was also named in his honor last year.

"Drunk drivers won't be able to drive anymore if they're drunk," said Gov. Larry Hogan, after Noah's Law took effect back in October. "We have so many repeat offenders and it's a terrible problem we haven't found a solution to, but I think this is going to help quite a bit."

Fortunately, this time, the officer was not seriously injured. Runkles was taken to a hospital where he was treated and later released.

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