Driver impaled after slamming into back of 18-wheeler parked on side of SH-225
DEER PARK, Texas (KTRK) -- A gruesome traffic accident early Tuesday morning left a man dead in the Deer Park area.
The eastbound SH-225 feeder road at Underwood is blocked off as deputies investigate the tragic accident.
According to Harris County sheriff's deputies, the driver of an 18-wheeler had been parked off to the side of the SH-225 feeder road since around 1:20 a.m. Tuesday with the truck's hazard lights on.
The truck driver was reportedly waiting to deliver rebar he was hauling and had gone back into the truck's cabin to sleep.
Rebar is a steel bar used as a tension device in reinforced concrete.
"It was parked well off to the side of the road with its lights on and hazard lights on," Sgt. Dashana Cheek said.
The truck driver was sleeping in the truck when he felt something hit his trailer around 3:30 a.m., according to deputies.
He got out and discovered a four-door black Infinity had run into the back of the trailer.
"[He] struck the back, partially back of the truck, but mainly the rebar, and basically the rebar went through the windshield and actually impaled the driver, causing him life-threatening injuries," Cheek said. "He was found here at the scene with no signs of life."
Deputies said the truck driver immediately went to the back of his truck to check on the driver and saw he appeared to not be breathing. He called 911 and has been cooperating with investigators.
Investigators describe the man killed as a Hispanic man in his 30s or 40s. They say he was wearing a work shirt, and was likely either driving to work or possibly heading home when he ran into the back of the 18-wheeler.
"There are no pre-impact skid marks, anything like that, to indicate he maybe lost control or looked up at the last minute or tried to stop... He just appeared to have failed to drive in a single lane," Cheek said.
Investigators are not sure if the victim possibly fell asleep or had a medical emergency in the moments before the fatal crash.
