Trucker, motorist dead in Houston after stalled car in travel lane is hit by truck

http://abc13.com/news/two-dead-in-crash-between-18-wheeler-and-car/1091036/

"Investigators say the truck slammed into the Ford, which was broken down and stopped in a lane with moving traffic, instead of on the shoulder.

"People think, 'I need to pull over to the right.' The only shoulder in this area is on the left side of the roadway. She may have not thought to pull over to the left," said Sgt. S. Wolverton with the Harris County Sheriff's Office.

"She" refers to the driver of that stalled car who wasn't hurt. Minutes before the crash, she got out of her car to inspect it and saw the accident happen.

"She looks back and sees an 18-wheeler coming towards her car. She tried to flag the 18-wheeler down but he did not see her in time," Wolverton said.

Amazingly, the two other people in the car, another man and a woman, were not seriously hurt after the truck hit. They were taken to Memorial Herman hospital.

Investigators say the 18-wheeler was carrying wooden pallets and was on the way to Waco. It lost its load. The car burst into flames and then the truck caught fire, according to authorities.

The accident happened around 4am and the cleanup lasted hours. All lanes of 290 outbound were closed at the Mason Road exit. Traffic diverted onto the feeder road caused major delays for drivers. Hazmat was called to the scene to remove diesel fuel spilled from the truck."

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Article followed by your typical retarded comments. This is one of the worst stretches of road I have ever driven, design wise. Probably in the top 5 busiest freeways in the US, yet lanes are narrow, there is no shoulder, and no acceleration lanes- you just mesh with a wall of traffic, with a concrete wall to greet you if you miscalculate your merge.

The design is borderline negligence.

Rest in peace all involved.