Series of wrecks injures several, kills 1 overnight

We're not sure whether it was something in the air or what, but something seems to have made Houstonians decide to crash into each other (and, in a couple of cases, walls) on area roads last night. First there was the guy who backed through a wall of the Houston House parking garage — we already talked about that — and then, around 8 p.m., a driver crashed into an Indian restaurant at Dairy Ashford and Briar Forest. According to KHOU, the driver was pulling into a parking spot at the Ashiana Indian Restaurant around 8 p.m. and apparently hit the gas instead of the brake, sending his car through a wall and into the restaurant's banquet room. Fortunately, no one was injured, but according to KTRK, it took police five hours to respond to the restaurant owner's call about the situation.

About 15 minutes after the restaurant accident, a wreck involving a tow truck and a car packed with people on the south side sent seven people to the hospital. Witnesses say an Allied Safe Clear wrecker was headed north on Scott Street at Reed Road when the car suddenly turned in front of the wrecker, causing the wrecker to run into a power pole, which fell against a gas station sign and caused a power outage in some nearby apartments. At least six people were in the car, including a 2-year-old child; all six were taken to the hospital, where the car's driver is listed in critical condition. The wrecker driver's son, who was in the tow truck's cab, was also taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Police are checking the black box from the wrecker to see if the driver was speeding.

Then, just after 5 this morning, a motorcyclist on Breen Drive in northwest Harris County was killed when he ran into several parked cars. Details — such as whether the cyclist was wearing a helmet — are scarce in that accident. And a couple hours later, a chain-reaction wreck on the Katy Freeway critically injured two people. It happened near Gessner, where police had stopped traffic to clear away a minor accident; a driver apparently didn't notice that the freeway was closed and slammed into a stopped vehicle. Then a truck rear-ended that car, crushing it. Two passengers in the car had to be cut out and were taken to the hospital; the truck driver also had to be freed from his vehicle, but he wasn't injured. All outbound lanes of the Katy were shut down for hours while the new, larger wreck was cleared away.

Drive safely, guys.