C-Falls man killed, trooper injured in crash

A 29-year-old Columbia Falls man was killed and a Montana Highway Patrol trooper was seriously injured in a two-vehicle head-on collision early Monday morning on U.S. 93 north of Somers.

According to the Montana Department of Justice, Travis Charles Vandersloot was driving a Volkswagen northbound in the southbound lanes when the collision with a marked patrol car driven by Trooper Mike Haynes occurred about 2:40 a.m. At the site of the collision, U.S. 93 is a four-lane highway.

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

The crash remains under investigation.