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Bret Baier

Bret Baier crash: MSNBC's Maddow sends pizza, thank-you note to Montana first responders

Fox News anchor Bret Baier was involved in a nasty car crash Monday morning, and the TV personality is getting lots of love including from fellow big names in news like MSNBC host Rachel Maddow.

Baier shared a tweet from the Montana Highway Patrol on Tuesday that showed several boxes of pizza along with a note from Maddow's team. 

"To Trooper Velasquez and everyone at the Bozeman Highway Patrol with great respect for your rescue of Bret Baier and his family," the note read. "From Bret's friends at the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC."

"Thank you Sgt for sharing this... and thank you @maddow for sending. Very cool," Baier tweeted, adding that his "Special Report" team would be buying lunch for the fire department and emergency medical services.

Baier, 48, was involved in a car crash when the Jeep he was driving slid through a stop sign on icy roads in Montana while he was traveling with his family on a ski trip.

Stephen Colbert, who was supposed to host Baier as a guest on Tuesday on “The Late Show,” first broke the news.

“We just found out that (Baier) and his family were in a car accident in Montana,” Colbert told his Monday audience. “Bad, like, Jaws of Life to get him out of there. They’re all in the hospital but they’re going to be OK. And we just want to say, we hope you’re doing better.”

Colbert added, "Bret's message to everybody out there is they are going to be OK. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for him and his family, and please, wear your seat belt." 

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The anchor and executive editor, Fox News’ “Special Report” explained in a statement sent to USA TODAY Tuesday he was in a “major car crash” after a family ski trip. The Baier family has since been released from the hospital.

“After a weekend of skiing with my wife and two boys in Montana, driving to the airport Monday morning on icy roads, we were involved in a major car crash,” Baier  stated. “Thanks to a man driving by named Zach who stopped and helped, we were able to climb out of the flipped car. And thanks to the first responders and Montana Highway Patrol – we made it to the hospital quickly."

Fox News Channel anchor Bret Baier, photographed in the network's New York City headquarters.

He continued: "We are very grateful to all of those who helped us out. My advice to everyone is to always wear your seatbelt and to count your blessings every day. I tweeted this out as we left the hospital banged up, but alive. ‘Don’t take anything for granted – every day is a blessing and family is everything. It’s always good to remind yourself of that before something does it for you.’ ”

Baier addressed the accident at the end of "Special Report" on Tuesday.

"I hit a big patch of ice and I could not stop our SUV," Baier said. "We slid into the intersection of a busy road and into the path of a big pickup truck, which slammed into our driver's side door. The air bags deployed, the windows shattered, we careened into a ditch and flipped sideways."

He added: "I don't usually give advice, but I think everyone should count their blessings. I know my family is tonight. ... We escaped with minor injuries: A concussion, 14 stitches on a chin, a jostled tooth and a sprained ankle. We are very blessed."

Trooper Alex Velasquez, of the Montana Highway Patrol, said Baier was driving outside of Belgrade when he crashed at 9 a.m. Monday. 

It was snowing heavily at the time and roads were icy.

Baier was “very polite and respectful,” Velasquez told the Great Falls Tribune, part of the USA TODAY Network. “I had no idea who he was until the end of my shift when I started getting phone calls. He was actually a super nice guy.”

The accident was one of 255 crashes the Montana Highway Patrol responded to Monday and Tuesday during a snow storm the swept over the state.

Baier's former colleague Megyn Kelly, who worked at Fox News until January 2017, voiced her support for him on social media. 

"(Baier) has faced down plenty of life's challenges with class, grit and a sense of humor and he'll undoubtedly do the same with this one," she wrote.

Baier also received well wishes from CNN's Wolf Blitzer as well as the official Twitter account for MSNBC's "Morning Joe." Journalist Howard Fineman also expressed his concern.

Baier replied to some of the posts on Tuesday, writing to Fineman that his family is "back home and on the mend."

Contributing: Leora Arnowitz, USA TODAY; Karl Puckett, Great Falls Tribune; and The Associated Press

 

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