Conroe, TX fatal- three trucks, two cars involved, Fedex rolls

http://montgomerycountypolicereporter.com/fatal-crash-closes-interstate-45-2/ pics


Just after 5 a.m. Thursday morning Conroe Police and Fire responded to a reported multiple vehicle crash with an overturned 18-wheeler on Interstate 45 southbound at the League Line exit.
Conroe Police Sgt. Robert Engel said a Kenworth 18-wheeler owned by Reveille Trucking of Harlingen, Texas was southbound in the center lane when it was struck in the rear by a Honda Civic. Both vehicles stopped in that lane. At that point the driver of a silver Honda saw the crash and tried going to the left to avoid it. The silver Honda then struck the green Civic causing the silver Honda to crash into the inside concrete barrier.
A auto transport owned by Accelerated Auto Transport and loaded with vehicles then saw the crash and tried to veer to the right. The trailer of the auto hauler struck the green Honda Civic spinning it so that it was now facing northbound.
A Federal Express 18-wheeler then came up on the scene and unable to avoid the crash slammed into the green Honda Civic crushing it. The Federal Express truck then lost control and flipped over in the median. The load stayed intact.
Montgomery County Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace Wayne Mack was dispatched to the scene and pronounced the still unidentified driver of the green Civic dead on the scene. He ordered Eickenhorst Funeral Directors to transport the victim to the Montgomery County Forensic Center for autopsy.
It is unknown at this time if alcohol was a factor.
The only other injury was the driver of the Federal Express truck who suffered minor injuries.
Interstate 45 remained closed until after 10 a.m. as Conroe Police with the assistance of the Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Andrew James investigated the crash.
Milstead Heavy Duty was able to right the Federal Express truck without the load spilling.
Traffic which was being forced off at FM 830 moved at a snails pace as many drivers slowed to photograph the scene with their cell phones.

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I was two vehicles back from this one this morning as it happened. Rough scene to see. Between the time it happened and the time the Fire dept arrived, there were almost a couple more wrecks with people blowing up to the scene and not seeing it until they are in the middle of it doing 75 and then skidding to slow down, despite someone one the shoulder shining a light toward oncoming traffic, and multiple vehicles on the shoulder with flashers on visible from a mile away.

One of the good Samaritans almost got hit. How the hell people have their heads so far up their ### they can't see a scene like this is beyond me.

On another note, the design of this stretch of road sucks. There is an accident almost every day, and I dread driving it. They main problem is the on ramps merge into high speed traffic with no acceleration lane, no visibility, no shoulder, concrete walls on both sides of the ramps/ main lanes, no room for error.

Where there is not a concrete wall, there is soft shoulder six inches from the edge of the road. The lanes make abrupt jogs in a couple of spots, again, with concrete walls and no shoulder for error. And this is a newly constructed stretch of road.

Be safe.