Two people were hospitalized in critical condition after a violent collision between two white sedans on Culebra Road just before Elmendorf on Tuesday evening, shutting down a stretch of the West Side for several hours. Emergency crews rushed out after a flurry of 911 calls around 6:40 p.m., and investigators remained on scene late into the night as traffic officers painstakingly documented the wreckage.
What happened
San Antonio police said one sedan was driven by a single adult female who was taken to San Antonio Military Medical Center in critical condition. The other vehicle carried an uncle and his 12-year-old nephew, who were believed to have been taken to University Hospital and were also listed in critical condition, according to News 4 San Antonio. Officers at the scene described it as a major crash and said traffic investigators would be following up at the hospitals as part of their ongoing probe.
Culebra Road's crash history
Culebra Road is a long, heavily traveled arterial that has repeatedly drawn scrutiny for serious wrecks and ongoing safety efforts, so any major collision there lands hard with West Side residents. The city has secured an $8 million federal grant to plan safety upgrades along Culebra, according to Axios, and MySA has tracked frequent collisions and detailed plans for new medians and signage aimed at reducing crashes. TxDOT has told reporters that a concrete median is expected to be installed at a problem intersection in the coming months.
Investigation ongoing
Police said early information hinted that racing might have been a factor, but later witness accounts did not all line up with that theory. Sgt. Montoya told reporters that witnesses said the eastbound sedan carrying the uncle and nephew may have been racing a black pickup truck before veering into oncoming traffic. Officers said the black pickup did not collide with the sedans but that they were working to track it down, and they also searched a nearby homeless camp and the ditch below a bridge to make sure no one had gone over the railing, according to News 4 San Antonio. Traffic investigators are expected to keep digging into witness statements, video and physical evidence as they work to sort out exactly what happened.
What comes next
The crash remains under investigation as traffic officers continue gathering evidence and talking to witnesses. Officials have not released additional details, and police say updates will be provided as the investigation moves forward.
