A Warrenton man caused a crash on Interstate 70 near Wentzville in St. Charles County according to Missouri State Highway Patrol.
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A 24-year-old Warrenton man caused a five-car crash on Interstate 70 near Wentzville Parkway on Oct. 21.
The crash happened about 12:15 p.m., according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol accident report.
The crash occurred just before reaching the newly-opened exit ramp from Wentzville Parkway onto eastbound Interstate 70. The next exit has caused traffic backups at various times since opening as drivers acclimate themselves to the new interchange.
Joseph E. Kiparski, 24 of Warrenton, was traveling eastbound on I-70 in his 2009 Pontiac G6 when he struck the back of a 2016 Ford Explorer driven by 34-year-old Leland Branson, of Foristell, that had slowed for traffic congestion.
The impact pushed Branson's vehicle into the 2018 GMC Sierra driven by an Olathe, Kansas, man. That vehicle then struck the back of a 2014 Ford F-150 driven by a Foristell man, before striking the final vehicle involved in the crash, a 2009 Chevy Tahoe driven by Brooke T. Mullen, 25 of Warrenton.
Mullen, who reached out to The Record on Facebook, disputed the order of events in the official accident report. She says her vehicle was struck by the Ford F-150 before Kiparski struck the Pontiac G6 and that she watched as the accident occurred.
Branson and passenger, 32-year-old Michell R. Branson, also of Foristell, were taken to SSM Health Lake St. Louis by the St. Charles Ambulance District with minor injuries. Neither were wearing their safety devices, according to the accident report.
The vehicles driven by both Kiparski and Branson suffered extensive damage and were towed from the scene. The 2018 GMC Sierra was also towed from the scene.
The crash is the third major multi-car crash on eastbound Interstate 70 in the past eight days.
Two separate crashes occurred Oct. 13 in Warren County that involved 15 cars. The first occurred near exit 200 in Wright City. The other occurred at mile marker 194 near Warrenton. Both crashes temporarily shutdown the eastbound lanes of the highway.
Currently, the stretch of road where the three multi-car accidents occurred is two lanes in both directions. A multi-billion dollar project to add a third lane to both the eastbound and westbound lanes of Interstate 70 is scheduled to begin on the section of highway in both Warren and St. Charles counties in the fall of 2024, according to MoDOT.
