Failure to Control Speed Causes Three Crashes on Houston Harte

Whenever one person crashes on the Houston Harte Expressway, another crash is sure to follow. Such has been the case these past few months in San Angelo, and this morning was no different.

Officer Tracy Gonzalez, public information officer for the San Angelo Police Department, said at 7:39 a.m. two crashes happened simultaneously.

One of those crashes occurred in the 1600 block of W. Houston Harte, and involved four vehicles and six individuals.

The officer at the scene said the drivers of a 2014 black Honda Accord, a 2015 black Dodge Ram Truck, a 2015 red Nissan Pathfinder and 1999 red Toyota Camry were traveling eastbound on Houston Harte in the inside lane. Traffic suddenly slowed because of the second crash further east. The 35-year-old driver of the Pathfinder and the 16-year-old driver of the Camry suddenly slowed, but the 39-year-old driver of the Dodge Ram failed to control speed and hit the Pathfinder, pushing the vehicle into the Camry. The 17-year-old driver of the Honda Accord also failed to control speed and crashed into the Dodge Ram.

The driver of the Honda Accord refused ambulance services at the scene. She was issued a citation for Failure to Control Speed. The driver of the Dodge Ram didn’t suffer any injuries, but received a citation for Failure to Control Speed. There was a 16-year-old passenger in the pickup who had a possible injury, but refused ambulance services. The driver of the Pathfinder also suffered a possible injury, but refused ambulance services. The 16-year-old passenger in that vehicle was not injured, and the 16-year-old driver of the Camry also suffered no injuries.

The other crash also happened in the 1600 block of W. Houston Harte, and involved two vehicles and four individuals.

The officer at the scene said a 16-year-old driver of a 2003 black Jeep Wrangler and a 20-year-old driver of a gray Ford Mustang were traveling eastbound on Houston Harte in the outside lane for through traffic. For an unknown reason, traffic started to suddenly slow. The driver of the Mustang slowed to avoid a vehicle in front of him. The vehicle behind the Mustang changed lanes to avoid a collision. At that point, the driver of the Wrangler saw that the Mustang had slowed, but she failed to control her speed and crashed into the jeep.

There were no injuries in this crash, and the 16-year-old driver of the Wrangler received a citation for Failure to Control Speed.

In the third and final two-vehicle crash that occurred one minute later at 7:40 a.m. in the 1700 block of W. Houston Harte, the 36-year-old driver of a 2006 red Saturn Vue and the 18-year-old driver of a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee were traveling eastbound on Houston Harte. Traffic suddenly slowed because of the two other crashes further east. The 18-year-old driver slowed down, but the 36-year-old driver failed to control speed and crashed into the vehicle.

The five individuals involved in this crash suffered no injuries, and the driver of the Saturn also received a citation for failing to control speed.