A Baltimore police sergeant is on life support after he was struck by a vehicle and dragged while trying to make a traffic stop Tuesday night, authorities said.

The hit-and-run happened around 8 p.m., Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison told reporters outside the University of Maryland’s Shock Trauma Center, Fox News reports.

"At some point, the sergeant became engaged with the vehicle," Harrison said. "The driver hit the gas and accelerated, dragging the sergeant what we think is about two blocks and striking another car along the way."

The sergeant was rushed to the hospital. "He is critically ill. He is on full life support. He will be headed to the intensive care unit in the not-so-distant future," Shock Trauma Chief Physician Dr. Thomas Scalea said.