A Hillsboro man was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated after he was involved in a traffic accident Saturday night (Dec. 11) on Hwy. 61-67 in Festus that left him and a passenger with serious injuries.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported that the 28-year-old Hillsboro man was driving a 2016 GMC Acadia south on Hwy. 61-67 south of Veterans Boulevard at 11:17 p.m. when he drove off the west side of the road and hit a traffic sign and traffic signal support post.
The driver and a passenger, Lori Stawizynski, 45, of St. Louis, sustained serious injuries in the crash. Stawizynski was taken by Survival Flight helicopter to Mercy Hospital St. Louis in Creve Coeur, the report said, while the driver was taken by Joachim-Plattin Ambulance to Mercy Hospital South in south St. Louis County.
Updates on their conditions were not available.
The driver was placed under arrest at the hospital by patrol officers on suspicion of driving while intoxicated with serious physical injury. He will not be named unless he is charged with a crime by the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
The driver was not wearing a seat belt while the passenger was, the report said; the GMC was totaled in the crash.