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An Intermountain Life Flight paramedic was killed and a nurse seriously injured in a head-on automobile crash Sunday morning near Strawberry Reservoir.

The victim was identified as Tyson L. Mason, 29, of Plain City, a firefighter/paramedic for the Salt Lake City Fire Department who also worked part time for Life Flight. The identity of the nurse has not been released.

Fire Chief Karl Lieb described Mason, who is survived by his wife, Haileigh, and their 1-week-old son, as a talented paramedic and devoted husband.

Mason and the nurse were returning to Salt Lake City from Roosevelt after completing a shift at the Life Flight base at the Uintah Basin Medical Center, according to Jess Gomez, spokesman for Intermountain Life Flight.

Members of a Life Flight team sent to the crash site on U.S. 40 first learned their colleagues were involved when they arrived, Gomez said.

"As you can imagine, it was a shock," he said.

As a show of respect for their colleagues and as part of safety protocols, Intermountain Life Flight's teams in northern Utah that respond to emergencies involving adults will not fly or transport patients for 24 hours, Gomez said.

Other agencies and air transport services will fill in, he said. Teams that deal with newborn and pediatric calls will continue in service.

Counselors are being made available to Intermountain Healthcare employees, Gomez said.

The crash occurred at about 9:47 a.m. when the driver of a pickup truck going east on U.S. 40 was passing an Impala in a passing lane, according to a news release from the Utah Highway Patrol.

The Impala left the travel lane and sideswiped the pickup, forcing it into the westbound lane, the release says. The pickup hit a Subaru passenger car being driven west by Mason.

"This is a tragedy to lose a member of the Intermountain Healthcare and Life Flight family," Gomez said. "Our hearts and prayers go out to their families, friends and colleagues for this devastating loss."

Twitter: @PamelaMansonSLC