Trooper dies in U.S. 2 crash

A Montana Highway Patrol trooper died while on duty Tuesday morning when his car collided head-on with a pickup truck traveling in the opposite direction.

David Graham, 36, of Kalispell was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Flathead County coroners.

?We lost a fine colleague, a fine man and a good officer,? Montana Highway Patrol Lt. Col. Mike Tooley said in a statement. ?He loved his job. He was doing what he did every day.?

The crash occurred about 9:30 a.m. on U.S. 2 between Reserve Drive and Rose Crossing approximately two miles northeast of Kalispell.

A full-sized Dodge pickup was northbound in a shared turn lane when it crossed into oncoming traffic and crashed almost head-on into Graham?s southbound unmarked Crown Victoria, according to the Highway Patrol.

After the collision, the pickup went airborne and landed on its passenger side near the shoulder of the road, according to Terry Werner, a passing motorist who witnessed the accident.

The woman driving the pickup truck was taken to Kalispell Regional Medical Center by ambulance with a severely broken leg and other injuries.

Investigators are looking for the driver of a white vehicle traveling southbound on U.S. 2 who swerved to avoid the pickup at the time of the accident.

The driver, who is only a witness and not in any trouble, may have valuable information about the accident, according to the Highway Patrol.

Graham joined the Highway Patrol in August 2006. He is survived by his wife and three young children.

?The best thing we can do for David is to keep doing what we?re here to do,? Tooley said. ?We?re not going to forget him. We?ll do our best job in his honor.?

The wreck closed the highway from the time of the accident until about 3:15 p.m.

Graham is the fifth trooper to lose his life in the line of duty since the Highway Patrol?s creation in 1935. The last trooper killed in the line of duty, Michael M. Ren, died in a 1978 shootout with a fugitive near Eureka while trying to serve a warrant.

Officer Richard Hedstrom was struck and killed by a pickup while writing a warning ticket on July 19, 1973; Officer James Anderson had pulled over a vehicle on Bozeman Hill on Aug. 1, 1954 when a vehicle coming from the opposite direction struck and killed him; and on Nov. 2, 1946, Patrolman Robert Steele was approaching a suspected getaway car in an armed robbery when he was shot in the neck.

The Kalispell Police Department is assisting in the investigation, which is still under way.

The Montana Highway Patrol, Flathead County Sheriff?s Office, Kalispell Police Department, ALERT, Kalispell Fire Department and Evergreen Fire Department all responded to the scene of Tuesday?s crash.

Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com