A member of the Craik RCMP detachment is in a Regina hospital with serious injuries after being involved in a fatal motor vehicle collision south of Chamberlain.

The officer, a 47-year-old male whose name was not released, was sitting in a marked 2010 Chevy Tahoe with its emergency equipment activated at approximately 2:35 p.m. on Sept. 28 when the collision occurred.

While investigating a single-vehicle rollover, the officer parked on the side of the road in the northbound lane of Highway 11 about 1 kilometre south of Chamberlain where the highway splits.

At the same time, the RCMP Divisional Operational Communications Centre (DOCC) began receiving complaints of a vehicle driving erratically and at high speeds southbound through the community of Chamberlain. It is suspected by the RCMP this is the same vehicle that collided with the police SUV.

The driver of the vehicle, a 35-year-old male from Saskatoon, whose name was also not released, was travelling southbound on Hwy 11 when it crossed over into the northbound lane crashing into the marked police vehicle head-on.

“The RCMP member was then taken away in serious condition by STARS air ambulance to Regina, where he still remains in hospital,” said RCMP Cpl. Rob King.

The Saskatoon man was pronounced dead at the scene.

King said it is not yet known if alcohol was a factor in the crash.

“We’ll have to wait for the re-constructionist report to be completed and for toxicology reports from the autopsy to know that,” he said.

In addition to the RCMP re-constructionist who travelled to the collision, emergency personal and members of the Craik, Lumsden and Regina RCMP detachments also descended on the scene to help in the investigation and provide relief of traffic congestion.

“The northbound lane of Hwy 11 was closed for about seven hours (after the crash),” said King.

This is the second serious motor vehicle incident involving the Craik RCMP in September and the third involving a Saskatchewan RCMP member while on-duty since July.

On Sept. 2, a 35-year-old constable with the Craik RCMP was air lifted to hospital in Regina after rolling his police car while responding to a domestic disturbance call. He was travelling west on the 732 grid road in the RM of Sarnia when he lost control of his car around 11 p.m. and entered the ditch.

King said he is still in hospital and is in stable condition.

The RCMP member employee assistance program is providing comfort to family and members of the Craik RCMP detachment and officers from other detachments are being brought in to help officers in Craik deal with the call load.

On July 20, Const. Derek Pineo was killed when his cruiser hit a moose 7 kms west of the town of Wilkie while reporting to a call.