A 6-year-old boy is dead after the minivan he was riding in veered off westbound Interstate 64 in Wentzville and slammed into a utility pole Saturday evening, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. His 2-year-old brother and their mother, who was driving, both suffered serious injuries in the crash near the interchange with Interstate 70.
The crash happened around 7 p.m. Saturday at the I-64/I-70 interchange, according to the highway patrol. A 29-year-old woman was driving the minivan westbound with the two boys as passengers when the vehicle traveled off the right side of the road and struck the pole, the patrol said. As reported by KMOV, the 6-year-old was pronounced dead at a local hospital, while the 2-year-old and the woman were both treated for serious injuries.
St. Louis NBC affiliate KSDK reported that the vehicle was a 2019 Dodge Grand Caravan. Preliminary crash records also indicate all three occupants were Wentzville residents and were listed as using safety devices at the time of the crash, per the Missouri State Highway Patrol's incident report.
A Dangerous Interchange Mid-Overhaul
The crash site sits inside one of the busiest and most heavily reworked highway junctions in the region. The Missouri Department of Transportation's $600 million “Improve I-70: Warrenton to Wentzville” design-build project broke ground in March 2025 and is not slated for completion until late 2028, with plans to fully reconfigure the I-64/I-70 interchange in Wentzville to eliminate the severe traffic weaving that has long plagued the area.
Work was already underway around the crash site in the days surrounding the collision. MoDOT had scheduled overnight lane closures on I-70 between Wentzville Parkway and Route Z for Monday and Tuesday nights to set bridge girders for a temporary railroad bridge at the interchange, according to the Boone Country Connection. What caused the minivan to leave the roadway and strike the pole remains unclear, and it has not been established whether work zone conditions played any role in the crash.
What Missouri Law Requires for Child Passengers
Missouri's child passenger safety statute sets specific requirements for young riders like the two boys in the minivan. Under RSMo 307.179, children under age 4 or weighing less than 40 pounds must be secured in a federally approved child passenger restraint system, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation. Children ages 4 through 7 who weigh at least 40 pounds must be secured in an approved car seat or booster seat unless they reach 80 pounds or 4 feet 9 inches tall.
The state transportation department also notes that proper installation of car seats and booster seats significantly reduces the risk of fatal injury, even though an estimated 70% of car seats nationwide are installed incorrectly. Investigators have not released details about the specific restraint configurations used by the two boys in Saturday's crash.
Part of a Grim Pattern on Wentzville's Highways
Saturday's crash adds to a string of severe traffic incidents that have struck Wentzville families and travelers in recent months. In July, a two-vehicle crash on US-61 at North Point Prairie Road critically injured a 21-week pregnant mother, though her 2-year-old child escaped serious injury, Hoodline previously reported. Weeks later, on August 14, a 23-year-old pedestrian was struck and killed by a semi-truck on I-70 near Wentzville Parkway inside a narrowed construction corridor.
The broader numbers underscore how often Missouri roads turn deadly during high-travel periods. During the 2026 Labor Day counting period just before this crash, the Missouri State Highway Patrol recorded 213 traffic crashes statewide. Hoodline has also reported previously on lane closures and bottlenecks tied to the Improve I-70 project at this same interchange, part of a construction corridor that has drawn repeated safety scrutiny this year.
No further details about the cause of Saturday's crash, including any potential contributing factors from the work zone or road conditions, have been released. Troopers with the Missouri State Highway Patrol are continuing to investigate.
