Woman: Debris on freeway caused multi-car pile up, injured seven
A woman, Vanessa Campa, who reached out to ABC-7 claimed Sunday’s multi-car pile up on I-10 East was caused by debris on the freeway.
Campa told ABC-7 “huge chunks of concrete from construction crews were everywhere on the highway.” She also said there was a large pothole on the highway. She said, “We hit a rock, it cracked my rims and then we got out of the car to asses the damage on the rims and that is when a rock was hit by one of the traveling cars and broke my rear lights.”
Campa claims the chunks of concrete damaged five vehicles, including her own, which then caused the vehicles to stop and block the far right lane.
She claims the blockage in the right lane, and the large pothole, then caused more motorists to crash, sending multiple people to the hospital, saying she helped people out of their cars. “She was bleeding, he was bleeding from his nose, there was debris everywhere,” Campa said.
ABC-7 also reached out to TxDOT to discuss the woman’s allegations that the multi-car crash was caused by road construction.
A spokesperson for TxDOT, Jennifer Wright, told ABC-7 she was unaware of any road construction occurring over the weekend. “It is the driver’s responsibility to avoid any hazards in the road,” the spokesperson said.
TxDot’s Bob Bielek told ABC 7 that what happened was an act of God.
“This is not because a contractor went out there and cut into the pavement, it is an old patch that had been sawed in and repaved some time ago,” Bielek said.
He said the temporary patchwork usually lasts 3-5 years, depending on weather and traffic conditions.
Bob told ABC 7 that when traveling on the highway, especially when there is construction, people need to pay more attention. “That 50 mph speed limit through the construction zone is there for a reason. The reason it is there,” he said, “is that we have of a lot of things that are unusual that don’t meet typical standards.”
Bob also said to always leave one car length between you and the vehicle in front of you, for every 10 mph you’re driving.
