It happened around 9:30 p.m. in the middle lanes of Interstate 10 near Dell Dale Street.
Two cars collided on the freeway and came to a stop when another driver in an SUV ran into the previous crash, according to Houston police.
The impact of the crash caused the SUV's driver to be thrown from the vehicle, police said. The driver died from their injuries.
Investigators on the scene said the victim was not wearing a seatbelt.
A fourth vehicle also crashed into a freeway wall when its driver slammed on the brakes to avoid the previous wrecks.
It wasn't clear what caused the initial crash.