Columbia Falls woman and son killed in crash

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 as of Friday night. Her name was not been released as of Saturday morning.

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 has been turned over to the Flathead County Detective Division and the Montana Highway Patrol.