A fiery crash left one man dead and three people injured early Saturday morning near Willis. The two-vehicle accident occurred around 1:45 a.m. on Highway 75 at Shepard Hill on the northbound side of Interstate 45. Trooper Mike Franklin with the Texas Department of Public Safety.
A Cadillac sedan with four people inside was northbound on Highway 75 when a southbound BMW sedan left the roadway then over corrected and went into a side skid, placing it in the path of the Cadillac, Franklin said. When the cars collided, the BMW flipped, went over the guardrail and down an embankment where the driver was ejected and the car burst into flames.
The driver of the BMW was pronounced dead on the scene by Pct. 1 Justice of the Peace Lanny Moriarty, who ordered an autopsy. Metcalf Funeral Directors transported the deceased to the Southeast Texas Forensic Center in Conroe.
Montgomery County EMS transported three passengers from the Cadillac to Conroe Regional Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries, but the car’s driver refused treatment, Franklin said.
“The other driver appeared to be okay,” he said.
The initial investigation indicated speed, weather and wet road conditions may have been contributing factors, Franklin said.
The deceased was a local man, but his identity was not released as of this writing.
“The driver who was killed was from Willis,” Franklin said. “The people in the Cadillac are from Seabrook and were on their way to the Renaissance Festival.”
North Montgomery County Fire Department and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office assisted DPS and medics on the scene.
