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Fake Somers patrol car damaged in crash (caught on video)

Posted at 4:04 PM, Nov 04, 2019
and last updated 2019-11-05 21:07:37-05

Many drivers are familiar with "dummy Doug" who sits in the Speed Farm Automotive parking lot in Somers.

Shannon Farmer, the owner of Speed Farm Automotive, set up this "speed trap" about five years ago when he noticed people were flying down the highway.

"There's a lot of accidents here and people speed down this hill because it's 65, 55 to 45, and traffic bunches up," explained Farmer.

Security cameras at Farmer's shop showed that around 2 a.m. Sunday a vehicle came off the side of the road and slammed into the fake patrol car.

"It slammed into it, did a barrel roll, went right by my one ton and almost hit the coffee stand," said Farmer.

Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Brian Thorne says the crash is currently under investigation.

After the vehicle hit the patrol car, Jesse Lasater-Keller told MTN News the car came dangerously close to hitting her coffee hut, Sudden Rush.

"It was a little scary actually, it was inches away from hitting the coffee shop so, it could've had a very different drastic outcome for sure," explained Lasater-Keller.

Trooper Thorne says the driver of the vehicle later went to the hospital for treatment of his injuries; there is no word yet on what charges the driver may face.

Farmer says he hopes to have a brand new patrol car out in place of this old damaged one by Monday night.