Erratic Driver Causes Two Crashes and Attacks Deputy Before Being Shot Dead

GAITHERSBURG, MARYLAND – A man was fatally shot by a Montgomery County sheriff’s deputy Saturday morning after causing two car crashes and attacking the deputy with a large piece of wood, according to Sheriff Darren M. Popkin.

The man left the town of Laytonsville around 8 a.m., driving erratically according to witnesses. A driver who swerved to avoid being hit by the man’s vehicle struck a telephone pole. The second driver was unable to avoid the man’s vehicle and was struck head-on at the intersection of Olney Laytonsville Road and Fieldcrest Road. Numerous 911 calls were received reporting the reckless driving and crashes.

Following the second collision, the man’s car rolled for about twenty feet. After stopping, he exited the car wielding a large piece of wood, which he attempted to assault the other drivers involved in the incidents with.

Sheriff Popkin was not sure if his deputy heard the incident information on the police radio or happened to be passing the scene on his way to work in Rockville when he stopped at the scene. The man then assaulted the deputy with the wood, and the deputy reacted by deploying his Taser on the man in an unsuccessful attempt to stop the attack.

As the assault continued, “It was at that point the deputy felt his life was threatened and did use force that did stop the individual,” Poplin told reporters at an impromptu news conference near the scene of the crashes, attack, and fatal officer-involved shooting. The Sheriff added, “My thoughts are with everybody who was involved in this incident.”

Neither the man nor the deputy was publicly identified.  The deputy was transported to a local hospital for treatment of a back injury and superficial wounds to his arms that were inflicted as he attempted to protect himself from the blows. None of the vehicle occupants involved in the crashes required transport to a medical facility.

Montgomery County police are continuing the investigation, assisted by the Howard County State’s Attorney’s Office, which is routine in officer-involved shootings.