Highway patrol vehicle hit on I-90
By Gazette News Services
Four people, including a Montana Highway Patrol trooper, escaped injury Thursday morning after a two-vehicle collision near the Wyoming border.
At about 10:30 a.m., Trooper Tony Beehler was driving an MHP cruiser southbound in the right-hand lane of Interstate 90. He was following a snowplow when the cruiser was rear-ended by a Ford Windstar van, Sgt. Scott Ayers said. The driver of the van, Kenneth Glode, 50, of Billings, was driving in the southbound passing lane past a semitrailer when he noticed the snowplow, which was also in the passing lane. Glode changed lanes, saw the MHP vehicle and tried to brake but couldn't, Ayers said. He said Beehler was driving at about 35 mph because of icy road conditions, while Glode was driving at about 50 mph.
Beehler, Glode and two male passengers in the van were uninjured. Glode was cited for careless driving and driving with a suspended license and arrested on a traffic warrant, Ayers said. He was taken to the Big Horn County jail.
Damage was estimated at more than $1,000 to each vehicle, but both are still drivable, Ayers said.