Local officials gathered in West Penn Township Friday to offer support to an officer injured in the line of duty, and they pledged to bring her attacker to justice.

Sgt. Melissa Ruch is on the mend. She returned home from the hospital just one day after she was allegedly tossed over an embankment by a motorist that she had stopped to assist on Route 309. The man who attacked her is still at large.She was not ready to break her silence on the incident Friday, but did appear along a group of local and state lawmakers who honored her.“We need to remember what the folks in the emergency medical services do to keep us safe,” Rep. Jerry Knowles said. “These are the men and women who are there.”West Penn officers were unable to provide an update on the investigation, which is being handled by state police at Frackville. But state Rep. Gary Day said that the attacker will be caught and brought to justice.“It’s an attack not just on this officer,” Day said. “but each and every one of us.”