A woman charged with deliberately causing a fatal car crash is suing the family of a pregnant woman who died in the collision.
Erin Thompson, 35, and her 13-year-old son Caden Odell, were traveling in the other car and were both killed in the crash on Montana's Highway 93.
Winter was later charged over the crash, with prosecutors claiming it was a suicide attempt that occurred less than an hour after she broke up with her boyfriend.
According to ABC News, the bulk of their case rests on a series of text messages sent from her phone to her ex-boyfriend just minutes before the crash.
"If I won, I would have you ... and I wouldn't crash my car," one text message reads.
Another reads: "That's why I'm going to wreck my car. Because all I can do is f*** up. Because I am a terrible person and I know it."
But now Winter is now suing the family of Thompson, who was pregnant at the time of the crash, saying that she was driving negligently.
The lawsuit claims Winter suffered permanent injuries in the crash and a "loss of capacity to enjoy life".
She is also claiming past, present and future medical expenses and a future loss of income.
The lawsuit also names three companies that are responsible for maintaining the highway, claiming they failed to do their jobs properly because the highway was under construction at the time of the crash.
Flathead County Attorney Ed Corrigan, who is leading the criminal case against Winter, said he was concerned the lawsuit would "inflame the public".
"I wouldn't be surprised if it was an effort on their part to force a change of venue or put pressure on the state to get it settled," he said.
"I can't speculate on what they're thinking, but it could be strategy of some sort."
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