State troopers struck, woman charged with DUI

The following item was compiled from reports from the Charles County Sheriff’s Office and Mary- land State Police.

Two Maryland state troopers at the scene of a traffic crash in Charles County Monday night were allegedly struck by an impaired driver passing the scene. The driver is iden- tified as Ruth A. Runyan, 75, of La Plata. She was charged with driving un- der the influence, driving while impaired, negligent driving, failure to change lanes for an emergency vehicle and failure to obey designated lane directions. An ambulance was called to the scene to evaluate her for any injuries, but she re- fused treatment.

The troopers are identified as Tfc. Thomas Davis and Trooper Matthew Milich, both of whom are assigned to the La Plata Barrack. Neither trooper was injured in the crash.

Shortly before 7 p.m. on Dec. 5, both troopers were on the scene of a traffic crash on northbound U.S. 301, south of Smallwood Drive. The troopers had their marked patrol cars parked behind each other in the slow lane of U.S. 301, protecting the crash scene ahead of them. Both patrol cars had their emergency lights activated and traffic was being diverted to the lanes on the left of the scene.

Both troopers were seated in the same patrol car when a 2007 Mazda MX-5 northbound on U.S. 301 struck the unoccupied patrol car and then spun into the patrol car ahead of it, where the two troopers were seated. The first patrol car struck sustained disabling damage and the second sustained superficial damage.

The driver of the Mazda was identified as Runyan. Troopers detected signs of possible impairment and conducted an investigation. Their investigation led them to arrest Runyan for driving while impaired.

A tow truck was called to transport the Mazda from the scene. When the tow truck arrived, troopers and deputies detected signs of the driver’s possible impairment. Further investigation led to the arrest of the tow truck driver by deputies from the Charles County Sheriff’s Office.