A Larimer County sheriff's deputy was killed and another deputy hurt Tuesday afternoon when their patrol cruiser was broadsided on the way to a shooting range, 7NEWS reported.
The driver of the second vehicle, Mary Lane Peterson, 52, from Livermore, Colo., and her 10-year-old son, were transported a nearby hospital with minor injuries.
Travis Sass, 30, and his partner, Ian Stewart, 28, were members of the SWAT team, going to the shooting range for a class. Sass, who was sitting on the passenger side of the patrol car, received the brunt of the impact when their cruiser turned left and was T-boned by a Ford Explorer.
"Any time that you lose one of your own -- as it is with anyone -- law enforcement is a close-knit family," said Ken Elliott, of the Larimer County Sheriff's Department. "Not only were these deputies a valuable assess to the agency, but they were like brothers."
Investigators believe that Stewart didn't see the sport utility vehicle when he tried to go on to a private road on the way to the shooting range.
Stewart is in fair condition at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins.
The accident occurred around 12:45 p.m., near a private shooting range on U.S. Highway 287 -- a range typically used to practice with high-powered weapons, the TV station said. The accident happened about a half-mile south of the Bonner Peak subdivision.
Possible charges in the crash are pending.