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At around 10:45 p.m. on Jan. 18, an officer from the 2nd District responded to assist with a shooting call in the 3rd District in Gaithersburg when he was rear-ended by a driver at the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Grace Church Road, officials said.
The driver attempted to flee, but the woman was later found in the area of Montgomery Village Avenue and arrested for allegedly driving under the influence.
According to the department, the officer involved was taken to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and has since been released.
Shortly after that, a 3rd District officer was called to check on a disabled vehicle in the area of Southbound Columbia Pike and Dustin Road, positioning his vehicle to protect from oncoming traffic with lights and sirens on.
At the time of the second crash, the officer and driver of the disabled vehicle were outside of their cars when another motorist in a 2016 Kia Sorento struck the cruiser, which caused the car to hit both of them, police say.
No information about any of the drivers involved in the busy night for police has been provided by investigators. Both officers suffered non-life-threatening injuries and have since been released from the hospital.
"The Montgomery County Department of Police urges drivers to slow down and move over for all vehicles stopped on the shoulder, especially first responders with activated emergency lights," officials said.
One person had to be extricated from the vehicle and two were taken to the hospital with what were described as non-life-threatening injuries by Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesperson Pete Piringer.
According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, 56 officers were killed in traffic-related incidents in 2022. Of the 56 traffic-related fatalities, 35 were automobile crashes.
The crash led to temporary lane closures in the area during the investigation.
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