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A bizarre accident is being blamed for a massive traffic jam near St. Louis earlier this week.
According to the Missouri Highway Patrol, the driver of an SUV ran off the road on Wednesday thanks to being distracted … by fireworks going off inside the vehicle.
The single-vehicle wreck on Interstate 270 led to traffic being backed up for more than seven miles during the morning rush hour.
Investigators aren't sure how or why the fireworks went off, but they are charging the 43-year-old driver with also being under the influence of prescription drugs at the time of the wreck.
KTVI-TV reports that the woman, and her two teenage sons in the SUV, were seriously injured in the crash and were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
The inside of the vehicle was set ablaze and completely burnt out by the time the fire was contained.
Investigators say the accident could have been even worse.
Officers found a bottle of lighter fluid in the glovebox that remarkably did not catch fire in the resulting blaze.