One person dies after SUV plunges off Highway 288

HOUSTON It happened around 2am. According to witnesses, a green Ford Explorer with two males inside, was driving southbound on State Highway 288. For reasons unknown, the Explorer drove off the road just before the North MacGregor overpass. The Explorer then went through a guardrail, over Braes Bayou, and landed on a concrete embankment on the opposite side of the bayou. The vehicle came to rest on its passenger side.

Michael Glen Thomas Jr., 31, was was pronounced dead at the scene. The official cause of death is to be determined with an autopsy.

A second male also in his 30s, claiming to be the passenger, exited the vehicle with head trauma and cuts and was transported to Ben Taub General Hospital in an unknown condition.

Police say the investigation is continuing.

The wreck shut down southbound lanes of Highway 288 for several hours but it has since been reopened.