A Gallatin County Sheriff's deputy died while trying to help a stranded driver north of Bozeman on Saturday.
The incident was reported to the Montana Highway Patrol at 7:48 p.m. It happened near Fairy Creek Road and Cache Creek Road, just west of Bridger Canyon Road.
The Gallatin County Sheriff's Office has identified the deputy as Jake Allmendinger, 31 years old.
The Sheriff's Office released the following information:
It is with a heavy heart that the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office lets everyone know of the loss of one of our own last night.
Deputies Jake Allmendinger and Ryan Jern were responding in the same vehicle to a welfare check of a stranded motorist report on Fairy Lake Road in the Bridger mountain range at approximately 6 p.m. There was a storm coming through the area which created icy roads. As they were driving up to try and locate the motorist, their patrol vehicle began to slide backwards.
Sometime during the slide Jake exited the driver’s side of the vehicle and became trapped under the Chevy Tahoe. Ryan attempted immediate assistance but was unable to save Jake.
Members of the Sheriff’s Office, Search and Rescue, Montana Highway Patrol, and Bridger Canyon Fire helped with bringing Jake from the scene to Bozeman Health Deaconess Hospital.
Jake, 31, is survived by his parents Ron and Michelle Allmendinger, wife Monica, and children Bentley, Lexi and Kai. Jake was a dispatcher with Gallatin County 911 for over seven years, a Search and Rescue volunteer for eight years and has been a deputy sheriff since September 20, 2017.
Sheriff Gootkin will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. Sunday in the Gallatin County Detention Center community room. This is a law enforcement line of duty death respectfully and is treated as such by this.
No other details have been released at this point; we will update you as we get more information.
