After a crash on I-45, make safety your first job: call 911, keep your seat belt on and hazard lights flashing if you are stuck in a lane, and do not stand in traffic. Texas law then sets duties for drivers in a collision that vary with injuries and vehicle damage: stop, help anyone hurt, exchange information and, in many crashes, report it. Once safe, photograph the scene, learn which agency is responding, get the report, and speak to a lawyer before the other side’s insurer.
The short version
- Stopped traffic is the danger. Houston TranStar says each minute a motorist sits stopped on a freeway raises the risk of serious injury and of a secondary crash (reported by ABC13, 2022).
- Moving the car is required only sometimes. Transportation Code § 550.022(b), in the section on damage to vehicles, applies on metropolitan freeways when every vehicle can be driven normally and safely; injury crashes fall under § 550.021.
- Different agencies work I-45. Reports on three Houston-area crashes name HPD, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and DPS, and the agency that investigates is the one that files your report.
- Construction changes the evidence. TxDOT’s rebuild of I-45 is under way downtown and planned further north; photograph signs, barriers and lane shifts.
- Clocks start at once. A lawsuit generally has a two-year limit (§ 16.003), and a public body generally must be told within six months (§ 101.101).
What comes first in the minutes after an I-45 crash?
Get your car to the right shoulder or off the freeway if you safely can, then stay in it with your seat belt on, hazard lights flashing and doors locked, and call 911. If you must get out, the official who oversees the Houston-Galveston Area Council’s Tow and Go program advises using the passenger side and facing traffic, or climbing a barrier wall.
That guidance comes from an ABC13 report of 23 November 2022 in which David Fink, who oversees the Houston-Galveston Area Council’s Tow and Go program, urged drivers to move to the right shoulder or off the road, stay in the vehicle with seat belt fastened and doors locked, and call for help. The same story quotes Houston TranStar: “For every minute a motorist has stopped on a freeway, the risk of being seriously injured or killed increases dramatically, and the chance of a secondary crash increases by nearly 3%.” The article also names the Harris County Toll Road Authority’s Motorist Assistance Program as a source of free help.
Once you are safe, collect what the Texas Department of Insurance tells claimants to collect: the other driver’s name, address, phone and plate, the insurer’s exact name and policy number, witness contact details, the time, date and exact location, and the weather and road conditions, plus pictures of the scene (TDI auto insurance guide, read 16 October 2026). On I-45 that means direction, lane and nearest exit. Our list of photo types to take after a crash and the general steps after a car accident go further, and a driver who fled has its own page on failure to stop accidents.
Does Texas law require me to move my car off the I-45 main lanes?
Only when the collision is on a metropolitan-area freeway and every vehicle can be driven normally and safely. Then Transportation Code § 550.022(b) tells each driver to move as soon as possible. If anyone is hurt or likely to be, § 550.021 says to stop at or near the scene without blocking traffic more than necessary.
| Section | When it applies | What the driver must do |
|---|---|---|
| 550.021(a)-(b) | A collision that results, or is reasonably likely to result, in injury or death | Stop at the scene or as close as possible, check whether anyone needs aid, and remain until the § 550.023 steps are done, without obstructing traffic more than necessary |
| 550.022(b) | A collision on a main lane, ramp, shoulder, median or adjacent area of a metropolitan-area freeway, with every vehicle able to be driven normally and safely (the subsection sits in the section on collisions involving damage to a vehicle) | Move as soon as possible to a designated collision investigation site, the frontage road, the nearest suitable cross street or another suitable place to finish the § 550.023 exchange |
| 550.023 | A collision with injury, death or damage to a vehicle that is driven or attended by a person | Give name, address, vehicle registration number and liability insurer; show a driver’s license on request if available; give injured people reasonable help, including arranging transport to a hospital if treatment is apparent or requested |
| 550.026 | Injury or death, or damage that stops a vehicle being driven normally and safely | Report immediately by the quickest means to the local police department inside a municipality, or to the sheriff’s office or nearest DPS office outside one (within 100 feet outside city limits, police or the sheriff) |
Source: Texas Transportation Code chapter 550, read 16 October 2026.
Under § 550.022(d), a car counts as drivable only if it needs no tow and runs under its own power in the usual way, without adding damage or hazard to itself, other traffic or the road. Failing to comply with subsection (b) is a Class C misdemeanor (§ 550.022(c-1)). Photograph the vehicles first if you can do so safely, because their positions are evidence, as are the names of witnesses.
Passing drivers have a duty too. Under § 545.157, approaching a stationary emergency vehicle or tow truck with lights flashing, a driver on a road with two or more lanes in that direction must vacate the lane closest to it, or otherwise slow to 20 miles an hour below the posted limit (where the limit is 25 or more); our article on the Move Over law explains how it figures in claims.
Which agency responds to an I-45 crash in the Houston area?
That depends on where on I-45 it happens: news reports show Houston police, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Public Safety each handling I-45 crashes. The agency that investigates prepares the report and holds its own photographs, notes and any camera video.
| Crash | Agency named | Outlet and date |
|---|---|---|
| Wrong-way collision in the southbound lanes near White Oak Drive, 2:35 a.m.; two drivers died | Houston Police Department | FOX 26 Houston, 19 December 2024 |
| Pedestrian struck by at least three vehicles on the North Freeway before Rankin Road; northbound lanes closed | Harris County Sheriff’s Office, with Houston TranStar | FOX 26 Houston, 30 March 2026 |
| Pickup struck a slow-moving van in the HOV lane near the Rayford exit in the Woodlands area, Montgomery County; three died | Texas Department of Public Safety | KPRC 2, 10 March 2025 |
Sources, read 16 October 2026: FOX 26 (White Oak), FOX 26 (Rankin Road), KPRC 2 (Rayford).
The Department of Public Safety describes its Highway Patrol Service as responsible for “general police traffic supervision, traffic, and criminal law enforcement on the rural highways of Texas” (DPS Highway Patrol Service). The sources read for this article do not set out how Houston’s freeways are divided among the three agencies, so treat the table as three examples, not a map. In practice you learn who is responding by asking the officer on scene and writing down the officer’s name and badge number, which TDI also advises, and the agency.
That matters when you need records. TxDOT says it is the custodian of the crash report only, and that subpoena requests for dash-camera video, field notes or photographs taken at the scene go to the investigating agency (TxDOT, Crash reports and records). See also the pages on fatal car accidents and pedestrian injuries.
How do I get the police report for an I-45 collision?
Buy it from TxDOT’s online crash report system or ask the investigating agency. Section 550.062 gives the investigating officer ten days to file a report with TxDOT for a collision with injury, death or apparent property damage of $1,000 or more. Drivers and other directly concerned people receive the full document; all others get a redacted one.
On TxDOT’s price list a plain copy is $6 and a certified one $8, plus a small online surcharge. Our step-by-step guide to ordering a Texas accident report covers the portal, Houston Police Department requests and the information you need. Read the report for errors in lane, direction, vehicle positions and witnesses, because insurers rely on it.
How dangerous is I-45, and what do the numbers show?
KPRC 2, citing TxDOT, reported 97 fatal crashes and 105 deaths along I-45 from Dallas to Galveston in 2023, against 107 fatal crashes in 2022 and 97 in 2021. Those totals span the whole corridor, so they reflect a long, busy road and say little about risk on any one Houston stretch.
KPRC’s report, published 10 March 2025, said the corridor “has consistently been one of the deadliest roads in America” and cited TxDOT for the three yearly counts. We could not find a 2024 corridor total in the sources read, so none is given. Different sources count different things, and our map of Houston’s dangerous roads sets out why the numbers disagree and when a road’s owner can be responsible. For why crashes happen, see the top five causes of accidents and distracted driving cases.
How does the I-45 rebuild affect a crash claim?
Where a crash happens in or near construction, signs, lane shifts, barriers and contractor vehicles become evidence, and a claim against a public body has a six-month notice rule. TxDOT’s North Houston Highway Improvement Project is a planned improvement of I-45 from Beltway 8 to I-10, at different stages in different segments.
TxDOT’s project page describes the plan as an improvement of I-45 from Beltway 8 to I-10 that also reroutes I-45 through the downtown area along I-10 and US 59/I-69. Its Segment 1 page (I-610 to Beltway 8) says final design has not begun because of pending funding and anticipates construction starting in 2032; its Segment 2 page (I-10 to I-610) anticipates 2028, though TxDOT “may expedite the schedule as funding becomes available.” The Segment 3 page (downtown) says a drainage project on St. Emanuel Street began in October 2024 and an I-69 mainlane rebuild from SH 288 to I-45 started in January 2025. All pages were read 16 October 2026. That does not rule out other work zones on I-45.
Work zones are risky anywhere in Texas. TxDOT reported nearly 28,000 crashes in Texas work zones in 2024, with 215 deaths, a 12 percent increase in deaths over the year before, and said most of the people killed were drivers or their passengers (TxDOT, 2025 Work Zone Awareness Week release).
Whether a public body or contractor is responsible is a legal question that depends on the facts. The Tort Claims Act lists the situations in which a governmental unit can be liable (§ 101.021). It excludes certain claims about missing or malfunctioning road signs unless the unit fails to fix them within a reasonable time after notice, while leaving intact the duty to warn of special defects like excavations or roadway obstructions (§ 101.060). It also entitles the governmental unit to notice within six months of the incident, with an exception where it had actual notice of a death, an injury or property damage (§ 101.101(a), (c)); a city’s charter notice period, where one is permitted by law, is also recognized (§ 101.101(b)). These sections are in chapter 101.
Who pays after an I-45 crash, and how long do I have to sue?
Usually the at-fault driver’s liability insurer, and your own policy for some coverages. The state minimum liability limits are $30,000 per injured person and $60,000 per accident. Suit is generally due two years after the claim accrues, or after the death, under Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003.
Under TDI’s guide, personal injury protection comes with every Texas auto policy unless declined in writing, and uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, which also answers a hit-and-run, has to be offered by every insurer. Read about what to do when a driver flees, uninsured and underinsured motorist claims, and liability in multi-car accidents, common on a crowded freeway; what a Houston claim is worth turns on the facts. Fault shares reduce a claim, and anyone more than 50 percent responsible recovers nothing under chapter 33; read how comparative negligence is fought. The two-year rule is in chapter 16; how long a case runs is in a realistic timeline.
Before a recorded statement or medical authorization, read why to speak with an attorney first, whether you must hand over medical records, and the strategies insurers may use.
How can Maida Law Firm help after an I-45 crash?
Bring the crash report, photographs, the other driver’s insurance details and any medical paperwork if you have them. A crash is easier to reconstruct when the evidence is gathered before memories fade, so an early consultation is the sensible time to hand it over.
The Houston car accident page describes the claims we handle, the page on 18-wheeler cases covers commercial trucks, and the checklist for your case evaluation says what to bring. The questions to ask a personal injury lawyer and the piece on what a Houston accident lawyer costs help with choosing who to call, and a crash on I-45 can be described through the contact page; the personal injury overview lists the other claim types.
Frequently asked questions
What should I do if the other driver drives away from an I-45 crash?
Call 911 and report it, noting the plate, vehicle description, direction of travel and any witnesses. Driving off from an injury crash is a crime under Transportation Code § 550.021, a second-degree felony when a person dies. TDI warns that unreported hit-and-runs are not paid by uninsured motorist coverage.
Do I have to call the police for a minor crash on I-45?
Under § 550.026 a collision that hurts or kills someone, or leaves a vehicle undrivable, must be reported at once to police or the sheriff. TDI adds that you should call the police whenever anyone is injured. Even for smaller crashes, a report gives you an officer’s name and a record for your insurer.
How can I find out who was involved in an I-45 crash I saw on the news?
News reports often cannot say; FOX 26 noted that nobody in the Rankin Road crash had been identified. The investigating agency decides what to release. Full crash reports go to directly concerned people, among them drivers, vehicle owners, insurers and anyone who may sue because of a death; everyone else receives a redacted copy.
Is TxDOT responsible if I-45 construction caused my crash?
Not automatically. The Tort Claims Act allows claims against a governmental unit only in the situations it lists, with a six-month notice rule, and it treats missing or faulty signs differently from special defects such as roadway obstructions. A contractor is a separate question. The facts of the work zone decide it.
Will my own insurance help if the driver who hit me has none?
It may. TDI says uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage pays when you are hit by someone whose insurance is missing or too small. Insurers must offer it, and you must decline it in writing. Personal injury protection is likewise built in unless rejected in writing.
Where do I request an officer’s photos or dash-camera video from my I-45 crash?
From the agency that investigated the crash, not from TxDOT. TxDOT calls itself the custodian of the crash report only, and sends subpoena requests for dash-cam video, field notes and on-scene photographs to the investigating agency. Ask that agency how to request them.
About the authors
Sam A. Maida, Jr.
Owner and Managing Attorney
Sam A. Maida, Jr. has represented injured Texans in the greater Houston area since the firm opened in 1993.
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Bernard G. Johnson III
Litigation Managing Attorney
Bernard G. Johnson III is a board certified trial lawyer licensed in Texas since 1996 and a graduate of South Texas College of Law.