An allegedly impaired driver struck a Maryland state trooper in his patrol vehicle early Wednesday morning in Montgomery County, Maryland State Police said.

Police said that around 1:00 a.m., an impaired driver entered a work zone and crashed into the back right of the patrol vehicle. The 37-year-old driver was uninjured, and both cars were towed from the scene.

The trooper was parked in lane one of a work zone on the outer loop of I-495 and Greentree Road with the vehicle’s emergency lights on, state police said. Arrow boards and signs warned of the work zone, as two lanes were blocked with cones.

The driver was arrested on the scene after Rockville Barrack troopers saw signs of impairment, state police said. The investigation is ongoing.

Efforts to bolster work zone safety have increased in response to a crash on I-695 that killed six construction workers in March 2023. The governor’s work zone safety group was announced a month later, chaired by Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller. The group unveiled its final set of recommendations in November that same year.

During this year’s state legislative session, Miller testified in support of the Maryland Road Worker Safety Act of 2024, later signed into law by Gov. Wes Moore. The bill, aimed at expanding the state’s work zone speed camera program, took effect on June 1.

Under the bill, the cost of fines for speeding in a work zone doubled temporarily until 2025, when the cost could reach $1,000. The Maryland Transportation Authority, BWI Marshall Airport and the Port of Baltimore also started a traffic safety initiative.