Trooper hurt, driver killed in crash

The Associated Press

A car traveling northbound in the southbound lanes of U.S. 93 north of Somers collided with a Montana Highway Patrol car early Monday, killing the driver and injuring the trooper, the patrol said.

The 29-year-old man driving a Volkswagen died at the scene while Trooper Mike Haynes was taken to Kalispell Regional Medical Center with serious injuries, the attorney general's office said.

The accident happened around 2:40 a.m.

The name of the victim has not been released.

Patrol commander Col. Mike Tooley said the crash remains under investigation.

"While more information will become available as the investigation is conducted, this morning I encourage all Montanans to join the entire patrol and keep Trooper Haynes and his family in their thoughts and prayers," Tooley said in a statement. "I'd also like to extend my heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased."

Haynes, 28, was sworn in as a trooper in August 2006.

Two Montana Highway Patrol troopers were killed in head-on crashes in the Kalispell area in the past two years.

Trooper Evan Schneider, 29, died on Aug. 26, 2008, when his patrol car was hit by a pickup truck. The two people in the pickup truck also died of their injuries. An investigation showed a third vehicle caused the driver of the pickup to lose control and veer into the path of the patrol car.

On Oct. 9, 2007, Trooper David Graham, 36, died when a pickup drifted across the center lane and struck his vehicle.