A Prince George’s County police officer has been charged with driving under the influence after he crashed his cruiser into a tractor-trailer Thursday morning and briefly left the scene, authorities said.

It’s the second time that Officer Christopher A. Brown has been charged with driving under the influence, police said. In 2012, he was charged with driving under the influence and pleaded guilty the following year, according to police and online court records.

In the most recent incident, Brown, 31, was off duty and driving his cruiser along Interstate 495 near Pennsylvania Avenue about 2:30 a.m. when he clipped the back of a tractor-trailer, lost control of the cruiser and hit a guard rail, according to a police statement.

The driver of the tractor-trailer was not injured and called for help.

When officers arrived, they found the cruiser unoccupied, police said.

Police later learned that Brown had walked away from the scene and had come back on his own a short time later while officers were investigating the crash, police said.

Brown, who has been a Prince George’s officer since 2009, has been charged with several counts of driving under the influence and speeding in Thursday’s crash. He has been suspended with pay.

Police said he was also involved in a DUI in a marked cruiser in 2012. He pleaded guilty and was disciplined internally before he was allowed to return to duty.

“I find the circumstances surrounding this incident gravely troubling and I apologize to the community for the appearance of impropriety,” Police Chief Henry P. Stawinski III said in a statement. “Know that, as always, when I have the facts I will take appropriate action to remedy this and I will make the facts known to the public.”