A 59-year-old woman was killed early Sunday after a pickup truck traveling in the wrong direction on Interstate 45 crashed head-on into her SUV in Conroe, Texas, police said.
The victim, identified as Emelia Muniz, was pronounced dead at the scene following the collision near the Highway 105 exit.
The pickup truck’s 20-year-old driver survived and was transported to a hospital, where the driver was reported to be in stable condition, according to the Conroe Police Department.
Police said the incident began around 4:40 a.m. Sunday when emergency dispatchers received a report of a vehicle traveling southbound in the northbound lanes of I-45.
About a minute later, another caller reported seeing a dark-colored pickup truck near Gladstell Street. A subsequent caller told dispatchers the vehicle was traveling at approximately 100 mph.
Within minutes, emergency personnel began receiving multiple reports of a serious crash involving a pickup truck and a white SUV.
Responding officers located the wreck in the 1000 block of South Interstate 45, near the Highway 105 exit. Police said preliminary findings indicate the pickup was traveling south in the interstate’s northbound main lanes when it struck the SUV, which was heading north.
Both vehicles sustained extensive damage to their front ends, authorities said.
Officers from the Conroe Police Department, along with firefighters from the Conroe Fire Department and emergency medical personnel, responded to the scene and provided medical assistance to both drivers.
Investigators are examining whether intoxication contributed to the crash. The district attorney’s Vehicular Crimes Unit has also joined the investigation.
The circumstances surrounding the collision remain under investigation, police said.
