Man Charged With Assault After Driving Into Park Ranger: Sheriff

BOULDER, CO — A man was charged with first-degree assault after he struck an Open Space park ranger, the Boulder County Sheriff's Office said.

Gregory Noriega, 24, was arrested Friday and taken to the Boulder County Jail, authorities said.

The ranger was patrolling the Rabbit Mountain Open Space on Friday morning, when he saw Noriega walking his dog off leash, the office said. The ranger told Noriega that he was going to issue him a citation, and Noriega became "verbally uncooperative," authorities said.

"The suspect asked if he could sit in his car because he felt he was having an 'asthma' issue," the office said in a news release. "The Ranger accommodated the suspect and was behind the suspect’s vehicle to obtain the vehicle’s license plate when the suspect put the car in reverse and 'gunned' the engine striking the Ranger and injuring him with the vehicle."

The ranger had to jump out of the way of the vehicle to avoid being run over, authorities said.

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Noriega then nearly caused a crash at Highway 66 and North 53rd Street before he was stopped by deputies, the office said.

"A High-Risk traffic stop was attempted but the suspect was not cooperating with commands and was subsequently taken into custody," the news release read.

The park ranger was hospitalized with minor injuries and released later in the day, the office said.