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A major crash on the East Sam Houston Tollway southbound at Crenshaw backed up traffic during the Monday evening commute. The collision happened at 4:53 PM on May 25, with crews responding to the scene as afternoon rush hour was building.
The crash closed lanes on the southbound side, forcing drivers to merge and creating delays across the corridor. With scattered clouds and temperatures near 88 degrees, road conditions were clear, but the volume of traffic trying to move through the area made recovery slower than it might have been otherwise.
According to LTA data, Harris County recorded 19,559 traffic incidents over the previous 30 days. The East Sam Houston Tollway sees consistent activity, and crashes during afternoon peak hours — like this one — tend to have outsized impact on commuters heading south out of the metro area.
If you're heading southbound through this area, expect slowdowns. Drivers should allow extra time or consider alternate routes if available. Recovery crews worked to clear the scene, though typical freeway incident timelines suggest it could take a while to fully reopen all lanes.
This is a developing situation. Check back for updates as the scene clears and traffic flow normalizes.
East Sam Houston Tollway Southbound at Crenshaw
Harris County, Texas
This report was produced by LTA's editor-designed production system under the executive editorial direction of Dennis R. Mundy, Executive Editor. The system combines our proprietary data pipeline with AI-assisted drafting to deliver verified incident coverage to LTA's editorial standards.