According to investigators, there were two wreckers stopped behind a Chevrolet car that had a flat tire on the right shoulder of the freeway. One wrecker driver was out helping two women change a tire on the car.
Just then, officials said a large Borden 18-wheeler dairy truck approached them in the right lane, traveling east.
As the truck was going over the overpass, police said the driver reached for something in the cab, which caused him to slightly veer to the right. He smashed into the back of one wrecker, sending it into the other wrecker, striking the wrecker driver who was standing beside the car.
The wrecker driver was forced to the ground by the impact. The domino effect then continued as the wrecker smashed into the back of the car, sending it flying down the grassy embankment and across the feeder road, officials said.
The Borden truck flipped onto its side and the front end blew apart, according to investigators.
The wrecker driver who was struck was airlifted to Memorial Hermann Hospital, along with the passenger of the car, who was waiting inside the vehicle while the tire was being changed.
The other wrecker driver was sitting in her wrecker when the collision happened. She was taken via ambulance to an area hospital with minor injuries.