Trooper's last rites at 1 p.m. today
Memorial services for Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Mike Haynes of Kalispell are expected to draw hundreds of people to the Christian Center in Kalispell today.
Highway Patrol Capt. Clancy King said the service and subsequent procession will have a turnout 'very similar" to services at the same church for two other troopers killed in the line of duty in the last 18 months.
Today's service, scheduled to start at 1 p.m., will attract hundreds of law enforcement officers and emergency services officials from Montana and other Western states, King said.
"When the service concludes sometime from 1:45 to 2:30 there will be quite a lengthy procession from the Christian Center to Glacier Memorial Gardens," King said. "Traffic will be delayed [on U.S. 93] for a considerable time as that procession happens."
Haynes, 28, died Friday morning at Kalispell Regional Medical Center, several days after his patrol car was hit head-on south of Kalispell. The other car's driver, who was drunk and driving more than 100 mph, was killed upon impact.
Haynes, a trooper since 2006, is survived by his wife, Tawny, his two young children, Taryn, 3 1/2, and Elias, 16 months, as well as his parents, John and Melody Haynes of Kalispell.
Haynes, a 2000 graduate of Flathead High School, served in Iraq with the Montana Army National Guard. A benefit fund has been set up at First Interstate Bank, and in lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Montana Hope Project.
King said the family invites the public to attend today's services.
"This is the family's memorial service," he said, adding that Haynes was "first and foremost a husband and father and son" rather than a state trooper.
The service will include the Highway Patrol's honor guard. Gov. Brian Schweitzer on Monday ordered that all flags on state property be flown at half staff today in honor of Haynes, and the governor urged all Montanans to do the same.
Burial will be after the services at Glacier Memorial Gardens, with military honors by the Montana Army National Guard. The Montana State Patrol will do "last call" at the cemetery.
Haynes was the seventh trooper to die in the line of duty in the Highway Patrol's 74-year history. After 30 years with no fatalities, the patrol has lost three troopers in the last 18 months, all in the Flathead Valley.
On Aug. 26, 2008, Trooper Evan Schneider died in a head-on crash near Bad Rock Canyon.
On Oct. 9, 2007, Trooper David Graham died in a head-on crash two miles north of Kalispell.
Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com