HOUSTON – A Houston girl says she feared for her life after a part of an excavator fell onto her automotive when a truck hauling the equipment struck the Houston Avenue bridge alongside Interstate 10.
What they’re saying:
“It was terrifying,” mentioned driver Robyn Hackett, who was headed eastbound close to downtown on Saturday night when the impression despatched particles crashing onto her windshield. “You assume, that is it. That is how I’m gonna go. And that’s a extremely scary feeling for anyone.”
Hackett mentioned she was injured within the crash, and her automotive sustained heavy harm. Transtar cameras present the accident delayed site visitors in that space for an prolonged time frame.
Photograph of Robyn Hackett’s car after it was broken in an accident involving a semi-truck and excavator Sept. 6.
Monday night whereas gathering data for this story, Transtar cameras captured one other accident involving one other truck on the similar location.
“There was a shatter of hydraulic fluid. Glass flying into my car. Metal coming at you,” she recalled. “At that velocity and drive of particles, you may kill any person immediately.”
Photograph of the broken excavator within the Sept. 6 accident on I-10 eastbound below the Houston Avenue bridge.
The Texas Division of Transportation (TxDOT) confirmed the Houston Avenue bridge has a historical past of strikes from outsized vehicles. Monitoring programs have detected 68 bridge hits so far in 2025, however they are saying solely seven of these hits reported had been investigated by police thus far. In 2024, there have been practically 46 strikes in that very same timeframe.
Based on TxDOT, many outsized masses journey with out the required permits or ignore authorized routes in favor of shortcuts. The company says to alleviate this, the realm is provided with three outsized load detection programs, each Eastbound and Westbound, and superior warning signage. When an outsized load is detected, the system prompts flashing warning indicators to alert the drivers of the necessity to exit.
Hackett believes extra must be executed.
“What number of lives are we going to need to put in danger earlier than we’ve got some sort of intervention that’s greater than what we’ve got now?” she mentioned. “I don’t assume it’s sufficient to say that what they’re doing at this present time is sufficient. We’d like some state leaders to assist with this.”
The Houston Avenue bridge is included within the White Oak Bayou I-10 Elevation Venture, scheduled to start in early 2027. Police are persevering with to research Saturday’s accident.
The Supply: FOX 26’s Sherman Desselle spoke with Robyn Hackett and a TxDOT spokesperson in regards to the incidents.
