Highway 59 wreck kills one, injures three others including child

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A wreck on the Southwest Freeway left one person dead and sent three others, including one child, to the hospital.

Police believe around 9:30am, a white car stalled in the middle of the freeway just before the Fondren exit and was struck by an SUV.

"The driver of the striking unit said it was stopped when he came over the hill right in front of him. We have no outside witnesses at this time, so we don't know why it was stopped," HPD Sgt. G.T. Hall said.

The white car burst into flames upon impact; its driver was killed and a passenger was taken to the hospital. We don't know the injured victim's condition. The driver and a passenger in the black SUV also were both transported to hospital.

We're told one of the victims is a 6-year-old, but that child is expected to be OK.

All southbound lanes of Highway 59 at Fondren were shut down for hours as police investigated and cleared the scene.

Meanwhile, another wreck also reported on the other side of the highway, on the inbound lanes of the Southwest Freeway at Bellaire. It blocked one lane of the highway for a little while.

ABC-13 traffic reporter Katherine Whaley suggests drivers should take the Westpark Tollway or Higwhay 90 as alternate routes.

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