FM 149 was shut down in both directions near Magnolia on Friday morning after a major multi-vehicle crash left people trapped inside vehicles and sent at least three patients to the hospital in critical condition. Sheriff's deputies, fire crews and EMS converged on the scene near Magnolia Hills as extrication efforts got underway, snarling traffic for drivers across the area.
Scene Near Karen Switch Road
According to Click2Houston, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office reported that FM 149 was shut down after the crash, with units arriving near Magnolia Hills as multiple sheriff's office crews, fire crews and EMS personnel worked the scene. A Montgomery County emergency alert tied the closure to the area around Karen Switch Road, the outlet reported. Preliminary information given to KPRC 2 indicated four vehicles were involved and that at least two people were critically injured, with a 17-year-old patient reportedly undergoing CPR.
A separate update from montgomerycountypolicereporter.com described first responders arriving on a four-vehicle major crash with injuries, and said the extrication took 45 minutes with three patients listed critical. That report placed the closure between the Jackson/FM 149 split and FM 1488, warning that drivers should expect a several-hour shutdown and take another route to avoid delays.
Conflicting Details on Crash Location and Cause
Accounts of exactly where and how the crash happened have varied. FOX 26 Houston reported that Montgomery County law enforcement were investigating a crash near Magnolia on Friday morning, with officials describing the shutdown as centered near the intersection of Highway 149 and FM 1488, east of Magnolia, closing the highway in both the northbound and southbound directions. The station said drivers were asked to avoid the area entirely.
A separate traffic alert from the same local police reporter site described the closure differently, placing it around FM 149's intersection with Millhouse Road and attributing the crash to a reported collision between a dump truck and an SUV. That report said the crash ruptured the dump truck's fuel tanks, spilling a large amount of diesel and creating an added hazard that required hazmat cleanup and brought more responding vehicles to the scene. It is not confirmed whether this account and the four-vehicle crash report describe the same incident.
Drivers Urged to Seek Alternate Routes
The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office urged drivers to avoid the area and find another route, per Click2Houston's report. The emergency alert indicated the sheriff's office was treating the incident as a delayed fatal accident, according to the same alert cited by the outlet. Officials in the separate traffic alert said it would likely be hours before the scene was cleared and the road reopened, echoing the broader expectation of a lengthy closure affecting commuters in the Magnolia area.
No confirmed reopening time for FM 149 had been released as of Friday morning, and the cause of the crash remained under investigation.
