Multiple outbound I-45 North Freeway lanes reopened nearly 11 hours after U-Haul, tanker crash

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Multiple northbound lanes of the I-45 North Freeway reopened at West Gulf Bank Road nearly 11 hours after a crash involving a tanker truck.

Houston TranStar said the crash, which it classified as a hazmat spill involving two vehicles, was verified at 4:53 a.m. Friday. For most of the time of the closure, only two lanes were getting by, causing major backups.

According to Houston fire officials, a large U-Haul truck slammed into the back of a tanker truck.

A man, a woman, and their cat were in the U-Haul at the time of the crash, officials said.

It reportedly took the Houston Fire Department an hour to get the male driver out of the vehicle. He and the woman were taken to an area hospital, where they were stable.

Video from the scene shows the woman waiting with the cat as crews worked to get the man out of the U-Haul.

Investigators believe the tanker was slow-moving or broken down when the U-Haul slammed into the back end.