A 22-month-old boy died tragically on Friday when a cement truck suddenly plunged off an overpass on Beltway 8 and landed on his family’s vehicle as it traveled along the roadway below.
2 Children Among 4 Inside Passenger Vehicle
The August 5th accident occurred around 2:30 p.m. at the intersection of Woodforest and Beltway 8.
“It appears a cement truck traveling on the main lanes lost control, went over the overpass, and landed on top of a vehicle with four occupants,” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez wrote in a tweet posted Friday afternoon.
While bystanders were able to free the toddler’s mother, grandmother, and 22-month-old twin sister, the little boy was crushed in the wreckage and pronounced dead at the scene.
“When somebody slams their brakes, and you hear that screeching,” a witness to the crash told KHOU-11. “All the sudden, something’s falling out of the sky basically and falling on another truck.
Fatal Houston Cement Truck Crash Remains Under Investigation
According to officials, a 32-year-old woman was driving the cement truck. So far, it does not appear that she was intoxicated.
Investigators believe the cement truck driver did try to slow down before the vehicle went off the overpass. It’s possible that a slick roadway also contributed to the accident.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office was on the scene Friday afternoon and is working to determine whether any charges should be filed in connection with the accident.
What to Know About Cement Truck Accidents
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the nation experiences an average of 5,000 trucking-related fatalities yearly, including roughly 357 involving cement trucks and other concrete hauling vehicles. Such accidents also cause approximately 1/3 of all truck accident injuries reported annually.
While cement truck accidents aren’t uncommon on construction sites, the majority – 66% — occur along roads and highways.
Cement trucks are inherently dangerous due to their size and weight alone. But because they often travel along congested urban streets and narrow rural roads, they’re also more likely to encounter smaller passenger vehicles in tight spaces than many other large commercial trucks.
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