LAKE ST LOUIS, Mo. — The man responsible for a crash that killed two mothers and two daughters who were driving through St. Louis on Valentine’s Day said he was distracted at the time of the collision. Investigators also believe he could have been under the influence of drugs at the time.
Those details are according to a new Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report obtained by 5 On Your Side.
The report includes driver and witness statement about what happened in the moments leading up to and during the crash on Interstate 64 in Lake St. Louis on Feb. 14.
The crash killed Lesley and Rhyan Prather and Carrie and Kacey McCaw. The mother and daughter pairs from Louisville, Kentucky were on their way to a volleyball tournament in Kansas City when the crash happened. The women were both 44 years old. The girls were 12.
The MSHP crash report listed drugs and distracted driving as a “probable contributing circumstances” in the section detailing the man who caused the crash.
The driver – whose name was redacted in the new crash report – was in a Ford F250 going eastbound on I-64 the morning of Feb. 14. The step-by-step breakdown of the crash investigation indicated he started sliding and then drove into the center median, hit the cable barriers, went airborne into the westbound lanes and crashed into the minivan that the two women and two girls were inside. The truck rolled over and hit another vehicle that was driving westbound.
The man was seriously hurt but survived the crash. He told state police investigators “he was trying to roll up the passenger side window and then he lost control,” the report stated.
Witnesses in front of and behind the truck at the time of the crash said he was hauling a trailer. They recalled seeing the trailer start to fishtail just before the truck veered into the median. They said he did not appear to be speeding at the time.
The crash report indicated the roadway was clear and dry at the time.
Back in February, St. Charles County Prosecutor Tim Lohmar said authorities were waiting on toxicology reports on the driver and that he has a history of drug charges.
The driver has not been charged at this time.
