A suspected drunken driver smashed his pickup truck into a Blaine police car at the scene of a traffic stop being conducted on a busy highway at night, even though the squad's emergency lights were activated, authorities said.

The crash occurred about 9 p.m. Thursday on northbound Hwy. 65 near the 125th Avenue NE. overpass, police said. The officer, who was standing near the road's edge, was not hit.

The driver stopped near the shoulder of the highway and was arrested by the State Patrol on suspicion of drunken driving. He was not hurt, nor was the driver of the vehicle that the officer had stopped, police added.

Paul Walsh