HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — Two women, including a mother of two, were killed in a multi-vehicle crash involving a big rig on the North Freeway overnight.
The southbound lanes were closed for several hours near Rankin Road while deputies conducted their investigation. As of 9:30 a.m., they have since reopened.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said, along with the two women, the two young children of one of the victims were injured in the multiple-vehicle crash.
Deputies said the injuries to a 3-year-old child and a 1-year-old are not life-threatening.
A man, who was standing outside of a vehicle when the collision occurred, jumped from the overpass to avoid being hit, deputies said. He fell 10 feet to the ground. He was injured but is expected to recover.
This happened around 1:30 a.m. heading south/inbound near Rankin Road.
The series of crashes started when a red Lincoln Navigator that was towing a black trailer experienced a blowout and tried to exit the freeway, deputies said. A gray Mazda sedan then crashed into the rear end of the trailer and ended up in a sideways position on the freeway.
Then a gray Chevrolet Silverado came along, saw the Mazda and tried to avoid the vehicle. However, the SUV ended up spinning out, hitting the wall and came to a rest in the middle lanes, deputies said.
A female passenger of the Navigator and the female driver of the Mazda then exited their vehicles, deputies said. A man in a white Chevrolet Suburban also stopped on the shoulder to stop and render aid.
Deputies said an Amazon Prime big rig came along and tried to avoid the disabled vehicles by serving into the outside shoulder. However, he was not able to avoid them, striking all of the vehicles and debris already on the roadway.
The big rig also struck the two women who had exited their vehicles, deputies said.
The two children of the woman, ages 3 and 1, in Navigator were also injured and transported to a local hospital. Deputies said they only suffered minor injuries and were properly restrained at the time of the crash.
The driver of the Suburban was injured but is expected to be okay after he jumped off the overpass to avoid being hit by the big rig. His truck was also struck during the collision.
The two other male drivers involved in the collision were not injured and are cooperating with investigators.
Deputies said there was light rain at the time of the crash making for slick roadways. No charges are expected at this time stemming from the crash.
Motorists can expect the freeway to be closed for several hours as deputies conduct their investigation.
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