Prescription drugs and fireworks combine to spark wreck, traffic jam in St. Louis

Nov. 21 (UPI) -- A hospitalized Missouri mother is facing DWI charges after fireworks ignited in her SUV caused her to crash on Interstate 270 early Wednesday morning, closing two lanes and backing up traffic for about eight miles.

Kara Koriath, 43, was charged with driving while intoxicated, second-degree assault and child endangerment. She is accused of being under the influence of prescription medication at the time of accident.

Koriath and her teenage sons, Andrew Dreste, 16, and Matthew Dreste, 13, were all taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

“We believe she left the roadway due to a distraction from fireworks being ignited inside the vehicle,” said Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Al Notham.

"Every year we get those calls of people shooting fireworks outside their vehicle," Notham said. "They light them and throw the bottle rockets out. I don’t know if that’s the situation here. We don’t know yet if that’s exactly what was going on here. We do know they were ignited in that vehicle."

Koriath’s vehicle struck a sign. The accident caused traffic delays for over an hour and a half.

[KMOV] [Fox 2]