Car carrier flips, closing Eastex Freeway

We know it's irrational, but Houstonist has always been just a little concerned about driving behind car carriers on the freeway — and this morning, we remember why: Overnight, the driver of a car carrier on Highway 59 lost control, flipping his rig over and sending cars sliding across the freeway. (For the record, our concern always had to do with cars breaking loose and falling off the car carrier while it was moving, but this'll do, too.)

It happened just before 2 a.m. in a construction zone on the Eastex Freeway near FM 1314 in Porter. According to KHOU the driver approached the construction area and thought he was on the wrong side of the road, so he swerved sharply. The road was wet and the driver lost control of his truck, slamming into a concrete barrier and flipping the 18-wheeler over; four cars on the truck broke loose and slid out onto the freeway along with nearly 100 gallons of diesel fuel.

The wreck shut down both sides of the freeway; crews were able to open the southbound lanes around 7 a.m. today, but they weren't expected to have the northbound side of the road open until sometime around 9 a.m. The crash meant some drivers just got stuck: "I've been here since 2:00," Rusty Liles told KPRC this morning. "When I got here, the truck was already turned over and the highway was already shut down." Amazingly enough, no one was hurt in the accident; the truck driver, who was taking the cars from Little Rock to Brownsville, was cited for failing to remain in one lane.