A yesterday morning collision on the East Freeway resulted in one fatality when a stalled vehicle was hit from behind by another car, local authorities reported. The incident, which caused an hours-long closure of the freeway, occurred just before 2:30 a.m. near Wayside Drive, as reported by ABC13. Per Houston Police Department (HPD) officials, a blue Nissan became disabled in the outbound lanes and was subsequently struck by a Jeep.
HPD had received reports of the stalled Nissan on the freeway before the accident. The impact led to the Nissan driver's death at the scene. The driver of the Jeep was initially suspected to be under the influence and was undergoing checks to potentially confirm intoxication or impairment, which would determine the possibility of charges. However, these checks found the Jeep driver to not be impaired, according to a KHOU 11 article.
The section of the East Freeway where the crash occurred was closed down for investigation and clean-up but was reopened around 7:52 a.m., which brought relief to early morning motorists. The HPD continues to investigate the full circumstances surrounding the crash, including the possibility that the Jeep was speeding, although it was mentioned that the speed was not believed "to be excessive or egregious," as noted by KHOU 11.
