Maryland: Driver Had BAC of .22 When He Fatally Struck Montgomery Co. Officer, Police Say
Police say the driver of that car had a blood alcohol level almost three times the legal limit. A Maryland man had a blood alcohol content of .22 -- almost three times the legal limit -- when he fatally struck a Montgomery County police officer, police said Frida
On Thursday, 48-year-old Luis Gustavo Reluzco, of Olney, was indicted by a grand jury on charges of manslaughter by automobile, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years, and failing to move over for an emergency vehicle, a $500 fine. A circuit court judge set bond at $250,000 Friday.
“He’s not somebody who cared about anybody else on the road,” Rich Leotta, Officer Noah Leotta's father, said in furious remarks he delivered after Reluzco's bond hearing. "All he cared about was having drinks and getting drunk. He didn’t care about any human life that was on the road. All he wanted to do was get his high or whatever he was doing. And we know that he has done this before in the past.”
Any charges relating to driving under the influence are covered by the manslaughter charge, State's Attorney John McCarthy said.
“The charge manslaughter is based on grossly negligent conduct as defined by law,” he said.
The use of substances is part of that negligent conduct, he said.
Rich Leotta called the liquor lobby accomplices in his son's death, along with Maryland state legislators, for blocking the passage of a bill that would require drivers convicted of driving under the influence to use interlock devices, which require drivers to blow into a device to get a blood alcohol content reading before their vehicles will start. Named for Leotta, “Noah’s Law” calls for mandatory interlock devices for all drivers convicted of driving under the influence. Right now, only people convicted of driving with a particularly high blood alcohol content and repeat offenders have to use the lock.
“Zero point eight is the limit in Maryland,” Rich Leotta said, visibly angry. “It’s not 0.15; it’s not 0.09. That’s when the interlock device needs to be implemented. One sip over or I don’t care if it’s one drop over. You’re over the limit, you’re drunk. You don’t drive drunk. That puts everybody at risk. My son is dead because of that. That’s the liquor lobby. They don’t care about the people. They just care about selling their damn alcohol.”
Related Links
Links provided with these articles were active and accurate as of the posting of the article to ResponderSafety.com. However, web sites change and the organization hosting the page at the link may have moved or removed it since this article was posted. Therefore, some links may no longer be active.