WASHINGTON — A Montgomery County police officer is in the hospital after being struck by a car on Interstate 270 in Clarksburg, Maryland, early Thursday.

The incident began with a chase just after midnight, when Montgomery County police Officer Robert Sagona spotted an erratically driven car on northbound I-270 near Montgomery Village Avenue.

After learning that the tags were not registered to the black Chevrolet Impala, Sagona attempted to pull over the car, which instead continued north on the interstate.

The pursuit continued on northbound I-270. Using stop sticks, police deflated the vehicle’s tires, rending it inopearable, south of the Clarksburg Road exit. The two suspects fled.

Officers from the Gaithersburg Police Department, the Maryland-National Capital Park Police Department, and Maryland State Police troopers assisted in the search. A state police helicopter also assisted, but the suspects were not found.

The search was suspended at around 1:20 a.m. As Sagona attempted to return to his vehicle, which was parked just off the northbound lanes of I-270, he was struck by a 2011 Subaru Forrester in the southbound lanes.

Sagona remains hospitalized in stable condition with injuries that are not life-threatening.

Authorities continue to investigate the accident and are still looking for the two suspects.