111422 18 WHEELER CRASH SENDS TRUCK OVER OVERPASS ONTO ROADWAY BELOW

At 8am Monday morning a box truck was traveling west on SH 99 just east of Birnham Woods Blvd in Spring. For unknown reasons the driver drove off into the left grassy median and traveled several hundred feet. He then came back onto the road surface and made contact with an 18-wheeler, also heading westbound hauling pool pumps. The collision caused the box truck to strike the guardrail, go between the eastbound and westbound overpasses, and launch across lanes below. That driver was in critical condition. The 18-wheeler struck the bridge rail and rode it for over 100 feet. The trailer loaded with pool pumps remained on the freeway while the cab dangled over the side. South Montgomery County Fire Department was sitting in the parking lot next to the incident and gave an immediate response. For the first time ever South Couty Fire has used the ladder to rescue a driver. They were able to raise the ladder and the driver walked down under his own power. However, prior to the rescue, every strap available on all trucks was utilized to stabilize the cab from falling the remaining distance. Rescue workers had put out an emergency call for a heavy-duty wrecker to respond to the scene as due to radio encryption by Montgomery County Sheriff's Office there was no way to contact a wrecker unless they had been monitoring a fire channel. If it had been a rotation wrecker it could have taken up to an hour to secure the truck before the driver could be rescued. Rescuers did say they did not believe the driver of the bobtail had been texting as his phone was on him and was dead. At noon westbound lanes remained closed as is Birnham Woods Blvd below. Milstead Wrecker loaded the 18-wheeler hanging over. Miller Towing recovered the bobtail. Slinky with Saddle Creek Towing assisted. Hazmat International was tasked with the cleanup. Fuel from both trucks covered the road below. With three schools in the area, officials say it was a miracle no vehicles were strick below. One other motorist was involved in minor damage to the vehicle.