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Driver accused of fatally striking officer had high blood-alcohol level, his lawyer says Alcohol level of driver who hit cop was nearly 3 times legal limit, judge told
(about 4 hours later)
Luis Reluzco pulled out of the Hooters parking lot, turned right, and headed up Rockville Pike toward the flashing lights of a police car. His blood-alcohol content would later be tested at 0.22 and show signs of Xanax, according to his attorney, nearly three times the legal alcohol limit. After drinking beer and shots of whiskey for three hours, Luis Reluzco pulled out of a Hooters parking lot, turned right and headed up Rockville Pike. Flashing police lights were visible a mile ahead.
The high alcohol content, detailed in court and expected to be shared also at a news conference Friday afternoon, is the latest detail to surface in the high-profile case against Reluzco, 47, who was arrested Thursday for vehicular manslaughter in the death of a 24-year-old police officer, Noah Leotta. The start of his drive, as laid out in court Friday, was among fresh details that surfaced in the high-profile case against Reluzco, 47, who was charged this week with vehicular manslaughter in the death of Montgomery County Police Officer Noah Leotta, 24.
Leotta had been working on a special task force designed to get drunk drivers off the road. Both Reluzco’s attorney and prosecutor Bryan Roslund said Reluzco’s blood alcohol level that night was tested at 0.22, nearly three times the legal limit. They said his blood also showed signs of Xanax.
Central to the narrative as it moves forward is how intoxicated Reluzco was, and how investigators believe he came to strike Leotta’s car and then strike the Montgomery County officer. At a news conference after Friday’s hearing, Leotta’s father, Rich, called for tougher drunk-driving laws in Maryland. On the night of Dec. 3, his son was working on DUI-enforcement and had pulled over a suspected drunk driver when he was struck from behind by Reluzco’s Honda CR-V.
Based on reports and interviews, the investigators’ case is taking this shape: “My hero son was out there trying to stop drunk drivers,” Rich Leotta said. “Noah, I love you. I miss you. And I’m going to fight for you and every other victim of drunk driving for the rest of my life.”
As Reluzco drove north on Rockville Pike, Leotta was outside his cruiser, having pulled over another car, spoken with that driver, and put that driver’s license in his uniform pocket to keep his hands free, according to a police spokesman. Reluzco, a onetime bartender at the Bethesda County Club who helps raise his grandson, remains deeply remorseful, according to his attorney, John Roth.
Leotta started walking back to his police cruiser, which he had parked in the far-right lane — angled in a way that offered him some protection. He had also pulled his car over on a slight incline, in a manner that cars approaching from behind could see its lights from a long distance. “My client is destroyed by what happened,” Roth said Friday. “He understands the penalty that he will face.”
“As far as positioning his car, it was textbook,” said Capt. Paul Starks, the county police spokesman. Roth and prosecutors are due in court again next week. Central to the prosecution is how intoxicated Reluzco was and how he came to strike Leotta’s car and then the officer.
Based on reports, interviews and statements made in court Friday, the case is taking this shape:
As soon as Reluzco left Hooters and was on the roadway, the flashing red, blue and white lights on Leotta’s stopped cruiser would have been visible. Leotta was out of his car, having pulled over another vehicle, spoken with that driver, and put that driver’s license in his uniform pocket to keep his hands free, according to a police spokesman.
Leotta walked back to his cruiser, which he had parked in the far right lane, angled in a way that shielded him.
He had also pulled his car over on a slight incline in such a way that cars approaching from behind could see its lights at a distance.
“As far as positioning his car, it was textbook,” said Capt. Paul Starks, spokesman for the Montgomery County police.
As Leotta walked around the front corner of his car and opened his door, he was briefly exposed to traffic coming from behind him.As Leotta walked around the front corner of his car and opened his door, he was briefly exposed to traffic coming from behind him.
It was at that moment that Reluzco, who was in the same far-right lane as the police car, tried to veer to his left, investigators say. But for some reason — most likely a slow reaction time, police said — Reluzco didn’t veer wide enough. It was at that moment that Reluzco, who was driving in the same far-right lane as the stopped police car, tried to veer to his left, investigators say.
Reluzco’s Honda SUV struck the rear corner of the police car, scraped along its side, and slammed into Leotta, who was trapped in the open door. But he didn’t veer widely enough.
“Investigators believe that due to Reluzco’s extreme intoxication, he was unable to react to the situation he was bearing down on,” Starks said. “He was cognitively and physically incapable to execute a single lane change.”“Investigators believe that due to Reluzco’s extreme intoxication, he was unable to react to the situation he was bearing down on,” Starks said. “He was cognitively and physically incapable to execute a single lane change.”
Leotta was rushed to Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, where he died on Dec. 10. Reluzco’s Honda SUV struck the rear left corner of the police car, scraped along its side, and slammed into Leotta, who was trapped against the open door.
The impact “bends the driver’s-side door that’s open all the way around to the front quarter panel of the car,” Roslund, the prosecutor, said in court. “Officer Leotta was hit and ultimately dies of his head injuries from that.”
The friendly, well-liked officer is survived by his parents and sister.The friendly, well-liked officer is survived by his parents and sister.
Reluzco turned himself in to authorities Thursday after being indicted on a charge of vehicular manslaughter. His attorney, John Roth, called him “a very good person who was involved in a very bad thing.” Reluzco, of Olney, turned himself in Thursday after being indicted on a charge of vehicular manslaughter.
In court Friday, Montgomery Circuit Court Judge Robert Greenberg ordered that he be held on a $250,000 bond. If released, Greenberg said, Reluzco was to not drive and not serve alcohol at his job.
“They can find something else for him to do,” the judge said.
[Driver who hit officer charged with vehicular manslaughter][Driver who hit officer charged with vehicular manslaughter]
In Maryland, drivers tested at a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08 or higher are considered to be driving under the influence of alcohol. Officials at Mothers Against Drunk Driving say that, on average, a 160-pound man who drinks four beers in one hour gets to 0.08. In Maryland, drivers tested at a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or higher are considered to be driving under the influence of alcohol. Officials at Mothers Against Drunk Driving say that, on average, a 160-pound man who drinks four beers in one hour gets to 0.08.
Prosecutor Bryan Roslund said during Friday’s hearing that there is “overwhelming evidence of gross negligence. It’s very strong.” The case has “overwhelming evidence of gross negligence,” Roslund said. “It’s very strong.”
Roslund said in court that Reluzco also had told officers he had smoked marijuana that night, in addition to drinking. He said motor vehicle and court records indicate Reluzco has three prior DUI arrests dating to 1987. “He’s not been able to get that drinking under control,” Roslund said.
The prosecutor said motor vehicle records indicate Reluzco has three prior DUI arrests dating to 1987 and a “drinking problem that he cannot control.” Roth said his client had beer and whiskey at Hooters. Roth said he intends to probe the accuracy and techniques used in blood tests that yielded the 0.22 reading. He said his client was born in Long Island to the parents of Cuban immigrants and moved to Montgomery County as a child. He went to public schools in the Olney area, including Sherwood High School, where he played baseball and football and wrestled, Roth said.
Roth said his client had drank beer and whiskey at Hooters. Roth said he intends to probe the accuracy and techniques used in blood tests that yielded the 0.22 reading. He attended Montgomery College briefly, before joining the U.S. Navy. He has held several positions at Bethesda County Club. “A jack of all trades,” Roth said.
But the attorney also said Reluzco is remorseful about what happened. Four of Reluzco’s family members, including his wife, were in court Friday. They declined to comment afterward.
“My client is destroyed by what happened. He understands the penalty that he will face,” Roth said after Friday’s hearing. At the news conference, Montgomery Police Chief J. Thomas Manger said laws covering an incident such as the Reluzco case need to be toughened in Maryland.
Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Robert Greenberg ordered Reluzco held on $250,000 bond. Reluzco faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Because of parole rules in the state, however, vehicular manslaughter is classified as a non­violent offense, meaning he would be eligible for parole consideration after serving 25 percent of his sentence.
“It’s time for the people of this state to say enough is enough,” Manger said. “And even when someone is driving drunk and kills someone else, the penalties in the state are disgraceful.”
Roslund said in court that Reluzco told officers he had smoked marijuana on the day of the wreck, in addition to drinking. Blood test results after the crash, however, did not uncover signs of cannabis, according to Reluzco’s attorney.