A Houston woman was on her way home when debris from a bridge strike hit her windshield.
HOUSTON — A Houston woman says she’s grateful to be alive after debris from a bridge strike hit her car.
Saturday night, a semi-truck hauling an excavator hit the Houston Avenue bridge on I-10 eastbound, which closed some lanes for hours. Similar accidents at the same bridge have happened dozens of times.
Earlier this week, a truck struck the bridge, causing the big rig to jackknife and lose its load. Traffic was backed up for over 6 hours.
The woman behind that truck is sharing her story only on KHOU 11 News.
Before last night, Robyn Hackett didn’t know the Houston Avenue bridge was notoriously low and had been hit multiple times. Hackett is okay, but said she wants greater awareness of the problem so other drivers can be safe on the road.
“I felt like my life flashed before my eyes,” Hackett said.
She was coming home from the gym when she saw something ahead.
“It looked like this truck was just passing under this underpass and in the next second you hear this large noise and a pipe coming, flying at me,” Hackett said.
She swerved out of the way, and debris hit the passenger side of her windshield.
Hackett said two other drivers tried to get the semi-truck driver’s attention.
“And then a third driver went in front of the truck and every, kind of blocked them in so there had to be a stop,” she said.
They spoke to the semi-truck driver, who claims they didn’t hear what happened.
TxDOT Houston tells KHOU 11 News they have reported at least five strikes of the Houston Avenue bridge this year that led to an emergency response.
Additionally, a detection system has found that the bridge, just three inches above the national requirement, has been hit over 60 times. TxDOT said not all strikes led to lane closures like they did this week.
Hackett is hoping the state holds truck drivers accountable if another person were in her shoes. She also hopes the infrastructure issues will be resolved soon.
“That could just instantly kill somebody, so I want state officials to take this seriously,” Hackett said.
TxDOT Houston said they do have monitors placed along I-10 East at Wirt Road and I-10 West at Mercury Road that can alert semi trucks if they are over height. According to TxDOT, the total number of alarms for the year at Wirt was 10,927.
TxDOT adds that they do try to go after truck driving companies if they do not have the correct permits. As for the Houston Ave. bridge, it will be demolished as part of the I-10 White Oak Bayou project, which will elevate the highway lanes. That project is estimated to be finished in January 2027.