HOUSTON – A man died and his passenger was injured after a vehicle slammed into their stalled car on the North Loop.
Houston police said a silver Infiniti stalled in the middle of the eastbound lanes near the Ella Boulevard exit in northwest Houston Wednesday at 1:30 a.m.
A woman who was driving a black Dodge Charger did not see the Infiniti and hit it from behind, investigators said. Both cars spun around, and ended up hood-to-hood. The woman said the Infiniti did not have any lights turned on.
"It's not a very lit area here," HPD Sgt. Ignacio Izaguirre said.
The man driving the Infiniti, 19-year-old Bii Tran, was killed. The passenger, his 20-year-old sister, Linh, was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where she was listed in serious but stable condition.
The woman in the black Dodge Charger was not seriously hurt.
Taquandra Chizer said she saw the accident happen and called 911. Chizer and the woman in the Dodge tried to help the couple, but could not open the doors.
"I saw the headlights of the Infinity spun around," she said. "I did try to help them but we could not open the door to the passenger side, so we couldn't touch her."
When police arrived, the driver of the Dodge said she had been drinking earlier in the night. Police drew her blood to see if she should face DWI charges.
"She did admit to drinking some alcoholic beverages," Izaguirre said.
Investigators said she was not speeding.
The North Loop was closed for hours during the investigation. The lanes were reopened by 6 a.m.
Izaguirre said drivers in stalled vehicles should pull over to the side of the road, if possible, exit the car and walk off the freeway to safety, rather than remain inside the vehicle.