HOUSTON – A wreck on Highway 59 southbound that snarled traffic for hours left one person dead and sent three other to the hospital.
Officers told us shortly before 8 a.m. Friday a white Nissan Altima stopped in the middle of moving traffic on the Southwest Freeway. The driver of a black Jeep Liberty didn't see the car until it was too late.
"Vehicle stopped in the center lane of the freeway, when the car came over the hill, it was right in front of him and he struck the back of it," said Sgt. G.T. Hall, with the HPD Accident Division.
The Nissan burst into flames upon impact. The 30-year-old man who was driving died at the scene. His passenger was transported to Memorial Herman Hospital.
The two people inside the SUV, including a 6-year-old child, were also transported. They were both taken to Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital with minor injuries. They are expected to be OK.
"It has been horrible. We have been sitting for an hour now," said driver Akash Patel.
All southbound lanes of Highway 59 near Bellaire were shut down for almost four hours, forcing drivers to exit the freeway and packing the feeder road.
"The traffic wasn't bad until we got here, and in fact the GPS said there is a wreck at Beechnut do you want to go around it, and I said, 'Well it should be gone by the time we get here,' and it wasn't," said driver Stacey Vesley.
Another wreck was reported on the other side of the freeway. Officers say it was due to rubber-necking.