LONGMONT, Colo. (AP) - A Colorado State Patrol cadet was killed and a trooper critically injured after they were hit while trying to stop a fleeing car near Longmont.
The 27-year-old suspect fled an initial traffic stop in Weld County, Longmont police Cmdr. Jeff Satur said. The man's driver's license had been suspended, Satur said.
Investigators said the driver plowed into the scene of a separate accident investigation being conducted by other troopers, and the trooper and cadet put out spikes trying to stop the driver.
The cadet was identified as Taylor Thyfault, 21. The injured trooper has been identified as Clinton Rushing, 37. The suspect was seriously injured and taken into custody, but his name has not been released, the Longmont Times-Call reported (http://tinyurl.com/n5qtxah).
Longmont is about 15 miles northeast of Boulder.
Thyfault's last act was to shout out to a tow truck driver on the scene to get out of the way, Satur said.
"As far as law enforcement goes, we never want to lose a life, and the cadet acted heroically and saved another and unfortunately lost his own life in the process," Satur said.
The cadet and trooper were standing in between a tow truck and another vehicle when the fleeing driver came skidding into the gap, striking the two men, Satur said.