A speeding pickup carrying three children slammed into a Spectrum Communications tractor-trailer on State Highway 99 early Sunday morning, flipping the commercial truck into highway barrier cables and shutting down the freeway for roughly three hours.
No one was hurt.
The crash happened just after midnight Sunday, August 2, on eastbound SH-99 near Galaxy Boulevard, according to Scott Engle of the Montgomery County Police Reporter. Texas Department of Public Safety troopers said the pickup was traveling at an extremely high rate of speed when the driver cut into the side of the tractor-trailer just past the Galaxy Boulevard overpass, striking it in what troopers described as a PIT-style maneuver.
The pickup was carrying five people: the driver, one adult passenger, and three children. The commercial truck driver was also uninjured.
Troopers pieced together the sequence quickly because the Spectrum Communications truck was equipped with a 360-degree camera system, and the rear-facing camera captured the entire collision on video, giving investigators a clear record of what happened. The force of the impact flipped the tractor-trailer and left it tangled in the highway's barrier cables. Saddle Creek Towing responded to recover the commercial vehicle, and the roadway reopened just before 3 a.m.
Wrong-way drivers delayed emergency response
While crews worked the scene, the situation on SH-99 got worse. Troopers said motorists stuck in backed-up traffic turned around and drove the wrong direction on the freeway trying to reach an exit. Others blocked the shoulder lanes. Both actions delayed emergency vehicles attempting to reach the crash site.
DPS dispatchers initially logged the call at 12:10 a.m. as a major accident with rollover on SH-99 eastbound at Galaxy Boulevard, according to dispatch records.
The Texas Department of Public Safety has not announced whether the pickup driver faces charges or citations. The driver has not been publicly identified.
