Charges in wreck that killed C-Falls woman, son

An Evergreen teen has been charged with the deaths of a pregnant Columbia Falls woman and her 13-year-old son after she allegedly drove her car into oncoming traffic.

Justine Ellen Winter, 16, was charged last week with two counts of felony deliberate homicide in Flathead County District Court. Erin Julie Thompson, 35, and her son, Caden Vincent Odell, a Kalispell Middle School student, died in the March 19 crash.

After an initial appearance in District Court, Winter was released on her own recognizance and will be under house arrest. A hearing is set for Oct. 2 to determine if Winter's case will stay in District Court or be moved to Youth Court.

According to court documents, Winter was driving southbound on U.S. 93 between Kalispell and Whitefish at about 8:30 on March 19 when her car crossed into oncoming traffic and struck the vehicle driven by Thompson.

No skid marks or other pre-collision tire marks were found to show that Winter attempted to avoid the collision. There were no adverse weather or road conditions at the time and alcohol was not a factor in the crash.

Investigators allege that Winter drove into oncoming traffic in a suicide attempt. Winter, who had argued earlier with her boyfriend, may have believed they were going to break up.

She dropped her boyfriend off at his house about an hour before the crash occurred and then sent him several text messages. The messages contained a good-bye note and statements that Winter wanted to kill herself.

One read: "Because I wanted to kill myself. I wanted you out of my car so I could do what you told me I couldn't. Because I lost you and it's my fault."

A witness described Winter's driving as erratic before the crash, but after passing her observed that she had both hands on the steering wheel.

Information retrieved from Winter's car shows that she was not wearing a seat belt, was at 95 percent of full throttle, and was traveling at 86 mph three to five seconds before impact and 85 mph at the time of impact. No braking occurred until the last second before the crash.

If convicted, Winter could face up to 200 years or life in prison.