Chain-reaction crash on feeder road causes power lines to fall on Houston freeway
Downed power lines that fell on the I-69 Southwest Freeway at Newcastle Drive after a nearby crash caused a traffic headache Thursday morning.
By KTRK Staff
Click here for updates on this story
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Downed power lines that fell on the I-69 Southwest Freeway at Newcastle Drive after a nearby crash caused a traffic headache Thursday morning.
SkyEye video showed crews pulling the power lines off the freeway shortly before 9 a.m.
Video also shows a dump truck beneath the power lines with a smashed windshield.
Traffic came to a standstill headed toward the Galleria area when all southbound lanes were closed. Cars were starting to move again when the freeway reopened just before 9:30 a.m.
According to Houston police, a black truck ran a red light and slammed into an SUV at the intersection of the feeder road and Newcastle Drive. The crash caused a power pole to snap in an explosion, and then the power lines attached to the pole collapsed onto the feeder and up onto the mainlanes.
Video from the ground showed the aftermath of the crash. The vehicles involved in the crash were heavily damaged and power lines were still scattered on the road.
Police said some people were transported to the hospital, but it was unclear how many or what their conditions were.
CenterPoint Energy crews were at the scene working to repair the poles. About 1,500 customers were without power in the area, the company said.
In total, power lines from four separate poles came down in the chain-reaction, CenterPoint said.
According to Houston police, calls about the downed lines started coming in just after 8 a.m.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
