Pedestrian killed, cop hit on N. Freeway overnight

It was kind of a hair-raising night on the North Freeway: First, a pedestrian trying to cross the freeway was hit and killed, and then several hours later a driver ran into an HPD patrol car blocking the roadway after a truck lost its load of nails.

The pedestrian accident happened at around 8:45 p.m. near the northbound North Freeway and Parker, where police say a man in dark clothes was trying to cross both the north- and southbound lanes of the freeway. Several drivers swerved and avoided the man, but a woman in a Mitsubishi SUV ended up hitting and killing him. Police said they didn't find any ID on the man, but that he was carrying a backpack full of clothes. The Mitsubishi driver won't face charges.

The second accident took place much later, around 3:30 a.m., when police blocked the northbound lanes of the freeway near Little York, just a few blocks north of where the pedestrian was killed. Apparently, a truck carrying a load of nails — seriously, there are trucks that carry loads of nails? — lost its cargo, so HPD officers used their patrol cars to divert drivers onto the feeder road. Everything went well until a driver hurtled into one of the patrol cars, which had a cop inside — but the airbags deployed and the officer wasn't hurt.
"We were pleasantly surprised," Lt. John Zitzmann told KTRK. "Apparently, the side impact bags of the patrol car protected his side and head."

Police say the driver who ran into the police car seems to have fallen asleep at the wheel. He wasn't injured in the crash and likely won't be charged in the accident.