Woman in her 20s killed in fiery, head-on crash into Gulf Freeway pillar

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A young woman is dead after a fiery crash on the Gulf Freeway early Friday morning.

The I-45 South exit ramp to Dixie Farm Road and the far right feeder lane were blocked as crews investigated the deadly crash.

According to police, a woman believed to be in her 20s attempted to take the exit ramp from the freeway to the feeder road around 3:45 a.m., when she almost missed her exit.

While trying to correct her mistake and take the exit last second, police said she slammed head-on into one of the HOV lane's concrete pillars.

The crash caused her car to burst into flames.

Houston police said the woman was speeding at the time of the crash, which is what caused her car to go up in flames.

"I'm assuming at this time that, because she was traveling at a high rate of speed, with the force that she struck the pillar, it caused the car to catch on fire," Sgt. Dion Griffiths said.

Other drivers in the area stopped and attempted to rescue the woman.

"We do have some nice Houstonians who tried to stop and help her, and they were the ones who actually called police," Griffiths said.

Officials said there were no other passengers in the car at the time of the crash.

Investigators are working to determine if drugs or alcohol played a factor in the crash. They said it is unclear if the woman was wearing a seatbelt due to the condition of the vehicle.

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