Driver Arrested After Patrol Car Is Hit on I-45 in Montgomery County; Deputy Treated and Released
A passing driver struck a marked Montgomery County patrol vehicle with its emergency lights on while deputies investigated a suspected intoxicated driver on I-45 early Saturday, then fled, the sheriff's office says. A 33-year-old woman was arrested, and the injured deputy was treated at a hospital and released.
During the early morning hours of Saturday, October 24, a Montgomery County Sheriff's Office deputy was conducting an investigation on a suspected intoxicated driver in the 14000 block of Interstate 45, the sheriff's office said in a release published Sunday by Woodlands Online. A second deputy arrived and positioned a marked patrol vehicle with its emergency lights activated to protect the deputy conducting the investigation.
As the assisting deputy began exiting his vehicle, the driver of a passing vehicle failed to move over or slow down and struck the patrol vehicle, the sheriff's office said. After the collision, the driver fled the scene and failed to stop and render aid. Deputies quickly identified the vehicle that left the scene and went to its registered address, where they located the vehicle with damage consistent with the collision and evidence supporting the owner, 33-year-old Elizabeth Perez, as the driver.
Perez was arrested for failure to stop and render aid, a felony; passing an emergency vehicle causing bodily injury; and driving while intoxicated, according to the sheriff's office. The driver from the initial traffic stop, 24-year-old Jacob Zamora, was also arrested for driving while intoxicated. Both were booked into the Montgomery County Jail. The deputy involved in the crash was treated for his injuries at an area hospital and has been released.
Sheriff Wesley Doolittle reminded drivers that protecting those working along roadways is a shared responsibility. Texas' "Move Over or Slow Down" law requires drivers approaching a stopped emergency vehicle with its emergency lights activated to move out of the lane closest to the vehicle when safe to do so, or, if moving over safely is not possible, to slow to 20 mph below the posted speed limit. The sheriff's office said the incident comes after the tragic line-of-duty death of Deputy Erika Serrato earlier this year, and that Doolittle is committed to leading efforts to strengthen the law and better protect deputies, first responders and others working along roadways.
