A concrete truck overturned on the Grand Parkway in northwest Harris County early Monday, trapping the driver and forcing the closure of all westbound lanes of the busy highway for hours. Emergency crews rushed to the rollover in the Tomball and Cypress area, where the heavy vehicle came to rest on its side and set off a large response along the roadway during the morning commute.
The crash happened around 6:30 in the morning on the Grand Parkway, State Highway 99, just after Cypress Rose Hill. The overturned concrete truck blocked the westbound side of the highway, and authorities moved quickly to shut down all of the westbound lanes as they worked to reach the person who was caught inside the wreckage of the heavy vehicle.
According to authorities, one person was trapped in the truck after it flipped onto its side. Firefighters worked to free the trapped driver from the overturned vehicle, an operation that required extricating the person from the cab before they could be handed over to the medical crews waiting at the scene of the early-morning wreck along the parkway.
Once freed, the injured person was flown by medical helicopter to the hospital for treatment. As of the morning hours, there was no word on their condition, leaving the severity of the injuries unclear even as the decision to airlift the driver underscored the seriousness of the rollover on the North Harris County highway.
The crash snarled traffic across the Tomball and Cypress area, with all westbound lanes of the Grand Parkway shut down after Cypress Rose Hill. Authorities said the highway was expected to remain closed until at least 9 a.m., pushing morning commuters onto surface streets and alternate routes as the cleanup and the investigation into the wreck got underway.
Crews remained on the scene working to clear the overturned concrete truck and reopen the roadway. The cause of the rollover was not immediately clear, and authorities continued to look into what sent the heavy truck onto its side during the Monday morning commute on one of the region's major highways northwest of Houston.