ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Marking the first anniversary of Montgomery County police Officer Noah Leotta’s death at the hands of a drunken driver, his family family shared their all-too-common loss at a state memorial.
“I miss hearing his voice,” Rich Leotta said of his 24-year-old son, who was killed last December while on DUI patrol in Rockville.
“To get out the message, to talk about Noah, that helps. It doesn’t bring Noah back to me in that sense, but it does mean that he was here, he left something behind, he has a legacy,” Leotta said.
He and wife Marcie shared their loss with others Thursday at the 13th annual Maryland Remembers Memorial in Annapolis.
Rich Leotta has turned his grief into action, helping create tougher penalties on drunk drivers: Noah’s Law was signed into law Oct. 1.
Thursday’s ceremony, held to honor the victims and their families and to bring awareness to the dangers of drunken driving, was emotional as families shared the stories of their losses.
Amanda Moore’s mother was hit and killed by a drunken driver in February 2015.
“So when the guy who hit my mom was driving, he didn’t have his lights on, crossed the center line and they were hit head-on,” she said as tears rolled down her cheeks.
Moore, who recently had her second child, remarked on how difficult it was to be a new parent without her mother by her side.
“We were best friends. You always need your mom. It’s just really hard.”
