Local residents killed in car crashes

A 35-year-old Columbia Falls woman and her teenage son were killed in a two-vehicle crash at 8:30 p.m. Thursday, March 19 on the Highway 93 overpass near Church Drive north of Kalispell.

Erin Julie Thompson and Caden Vincent Odell, 13, were killed instantly, according to Deputy Coroner Sgt. Ernie Freebury of the Flathead County Sheriff's Department.

The 16-year-old female driver of the second vehicle was taken to Kalispell Regional Medical Center and later flown to Harbor View Medical Center in Seattle. She was in critical condition. Her name was not released at press time.

The West Valley Fire Department was required to extricate Thompson and Odell from their vehicle. Thompson was four months pregnant at the time of the crash.

According to the Montana Highway Patrol, Thompson was northbound on U.S. 93 when her Subaru Forester was struck head-on by a southbound Pontiac Grand Am driven by the 16-year-old girl. The report indicated that the girl's vehicle crossed into the northbound lane.

Thompson was the wife of Jason Thompson, a counselor at Glacier Gateway Elementary in Columbia Falls. Odell, who was a student at Kalispell Middle School, was Jason Thompson's stepson.

Investigation of the cause of the crash was turned over to the Flathead County Detective Division and the Montana Highway Patrol.

Travis Charles Vandersloot, 29, of Columbia Falls was killed and Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Mike Haynes was seriously injured in a two-vehicle head-on collision early Monday morning north of Somers.

According to the Montana Department of Justice, Vandersloot was driving a Volkswagen northbound in the southbound lanes on U.S. Highway 93 when the collision with Haynes' cruiser occurred about 2:40 a.m. At the site of the collision, U.S. 93 is a four-lane highway.

Haynes, 28, was transported to Kalispell Regional Medical Center. He suffered extensive leg injuries and head trauma. Vandersloot died at the scene.

The crash remains under investigation.