I'm waiting to hear what she really mixed. If it was baking soda and vinegar this is ridiculous. If it was a strong acid and aluminum or bleach and ammonia, I could maybe understand this level of reaction.
They won't need to show mens rea (criminal intent) because it will never go to trial. They'll beat her over the head with the potential of a felony conviction until she agrees to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge. It would be great to see a decent defense lawyer pick this case up and take it to trial.
Last line in the article since it has been updated: "We've also obtained the police report from the incident. It shows that Wilmot was mixing toilet bowl cleaner and aluminum foil."