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Sheriff on crash that injured deputy, 2 others
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez provides an update on a crash that injured a three people, including a Harris County deputy.
Three people, including a Harris County deputy, were taken to the hospital after a crash on the I-10 East Freeway on Thursday morning.
The deputy and another person are in serious condition, and a third person is in good condition, authorities say. Everyone is expected to survive their injuries.
The crash occurred around 6:54 a.m. in the eastbound lanes of the East Freeway near Cedar Lane.
According to Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, the deputy had responded to the scene just a few minutes before for a minor crash between an SUV and another vehicle.
The vehicles were along the inside shoulder, and the deputy positioned her vehicle to partially cover the crash scene, the sheriff says.
A deputy and two other people were injured on a crash on the I-10 East Freeway.
While the deputy and two other motorists were standing outside of their vehicles, the sheriff says a large work truck hauling a gooseneck trailer and equipment crashed into the patrol car and then drove into the crash scene.
"At this point, it appears that the driver of the work truck was coming off an overpass, I believe, onto the freeway. May have been coming at a high rate of speed, I'm just speculating at this point because it's under investigation," Sheriff Gonzalez said. "And obviously with the heavy load of the gooseneck and the Bobcat that he was hauling, it just came in with more force. So that's the preliminary information we have at this point."
The Harris County Sheriff's Office investigates a crash on I-10.
The sheriff says the preliminary investigation also indicates that the deputy pushed one of the other people out of the way as the crash was occurring.
"At this early stage, I definitely want to commend her for her swift actions," Sheriff Gonzalez said. "Just from the information we've gathered, it appears that as the collision was occurring, just acting swiftly, she was able to push the individual out of harm's way. And while he still sustained injuries, perhaps, spared him from death. Because while he does have serious injuries, he didn't receive a direct impact. And we do have evidence to support that she was able to push him out, putting her life in danger, and then, again, she was also struck."
The sheriff says the deputy was dragged 75 to 100 feet, and then she radioed in for help. She was wearing body armor that was heavily damaged but may have provided her some protection, the sheriff says.
A deputy and two other people were injured on a crash on the I-10 East Freeway.
Life Flight responded to the scene, but were unable to airlift the patients due to weather conditions, the sheriff says. Life Flight personnel did ride in the ambulance with at least one person.
Sheriff Gonzalez says the deputy mainly sustained injuries to her legs. The man in serious condition suffered multiple broken bones from his chest down. Details of the other man’s injuries were not released, but he was said to be in good condition.
The sheriff says the driver of the pickup truck did remain at the scene and did not show any signs of impairment. The investigation is ongoing.