CHEHALIS, Wash. -- Stephen "Mike" Gallagher, the deputy who was killed in a collision with an elk Monday night, was "trusted, respected and admired," said Lewis County Sheriff Steve Mansfield in a tearful news conference Wednesday.

Gallagher, 34, was a husband, son and father of two small children, Mansfield said. "He was a problem-solver, and he was a real warrior in our community," he added.

"Deputy Gallagher died in the line of duty, doing what he loved and what he was very good at. And that is making a positive difference in the people's lives that he touched," Mansfield told reporters in a noon news conference that aired live on KIRO 7 Eyewitness News and KIROTV.com.

UNCUT: Complete Sheriff's News Conference

Gallagher died Tuesday night at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. He was fatally injured Monday night while heading to back up another deputy on a domestic violence call. His patrol car hit and killed the elk on Highway 12 near Packwood.

Gallagher, of Adna, was a six-year veteran of the department who previously served eight years in the Army with deployments in Haiti and Kosovo.

State Fish and Wildlife Department spokesman Craig Bartlett said there is a large elk herd near Packwood.