A Howard County auxiliary police officer, who was seriously injured in a 2005 crash on Route 40, was involved in a collision Tuesday on the same road, Howard police said.
Pieter Lucas, 23, of Glenwood, was assisting a motorist whose vehicle broke down on Route 40, blocking a portion of the left lane, police said.
Lucas stopped his auxiliary car behind the disabled vehicle at about 4:55 p.m. and turned on the vehicle?s emergency lights.
But the driver of a 1995 Ford Aerostar Van traveling eastbound on Route 40 struck Lucas? vehicle in the rear.
Lucas was not injured, but a passenger in the van was taken to Howard County General with nonlife-threatening injuries, police said.
The van?s driver, Scott Serrano, 17, of Ellicott City, was charged with failure to reduce speed to avoid a collision and negligent driving, police said.
Serrano was not injured.
“The department is very happy to have [Lucas] back in his volunteer role as an auxiliary officer,” said police spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn.
“He?s proven himself to be a dedicated and committed member of the agency.”
Lucas suffered severe, life-altering injuries in a similar collision in November 2005 when he was directing traffic around an accident on westbound Route 40 at Pebble Beach Drive.
The driver of a Chevrolet Blazer struck Lucas and pinned him between the Blazer and his
police sport utility vehicle. Lucas lost his leg as a result of the collision.
Lucas endured months of rehabilitation and was outfitted with a leg that has a hydraulic cylinder at the knee and made of light fibers to allow him to run.
He returned to full duty as an auxiliary officer in May 2007.
He also helped create the state Officer Pieter Lucas Act, which went into effect in October 2007 and ensures worker?s compensation coverage for Howard County auxiliary officers while on-duty
under specified circumstances for the Howard police department.
Lucas declined to comment, but Llewellyn said he is not leaving the department.
Lucas was selected as the Auxiliary Officer of the Year for 2007.
