Harris County, TX — November 17, 2025, one person was killed and another was injured in a wrong-way car accident just before 1:00 a.m. along West Loop North.

According to authorities, a 38-year-old man was traveling in a southbound Lexus on the northbound entrance ramp of West Loop North near 12th Street when the accident took place. Officials indicate that, due to the wrong-way situation, a collision occurred between the Lexus and a Toyota Sienna that had been traveling in the correct direction on the ramp.

The man who had been behind the wheel of the wrong-way vehicle reportedly sustained fatal injuries due to the wreck. The person who had been driving the Sienna suffered injuries of unknown severity, as well; they were transported to a local medical facility by EMS in order to receive necessary treatment. Additional details pertaining to this incident—including the identities of the victims—are not available at this point in time. The investigation is currently ongoing.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When a vehicle enters the roadway in the wrong direction and causes a serious crash, the pressing need is not only to assign fault, but to understand how and why the situation arose—and whether the investigation left any stone unturned.

1. Did the authorities thoroughly investigate the crash?
In this incident, a southbound vehicle reportedly entered a ramp heading northbound and collided with a correctly‑traveling vehicle. While the statement of wrong‑way entry is clear, a thorough inquiry should go beyond that. For instance: Was the ramp entrance physically configured such that it could be accessed in the wrong direction? Were tire marks, skid marks or impact debris traced to establish the precise point of entry and path of the wrong‑way vehicle? Was the timing of each vehicle’s arrival at the point of collision reconstructed to determine how much reaction time the other driver had? Unfortunately, many investigations stop at confirming the wrong‐way movement rather than documenting the full sequence of how the crash played out.

2. Has anyone looked into the possibility that a vehicle defect caused the crash?
Wrong‑way crashes are often attributed immediately to driver error, but mechanical failure can play a role. Did the Lexus experience a brake failure, steering malfunction, or sudden throttle issue that prevented the driver from correcting their path or stopping? Was the Toyota Sienna equipped with any safety system data—such as event data recorder (EDR) readings—that could show whether it attempted evasive action? Without such inspections, there remains an unanswered possibility that a vehicle‐related issue contributed to the crash, even though the event appears to begin with wrong‑way entry.

3. Has all the electronic data relating to the crash been collected?
In today’s vehicles and intersections, there are multiple sources of data that can shed light: onboard vehicle systems, ramp‐camera surveillance, traffic control system logs (ramps often have sensors or cameras), and even cell‑phone data. Did investigators retrieve the EDR from the Lexus to check speed, steering input, and brake application just prior to impact? Did they attempt to secure any nearby video footage of the ramp entrance to confirm the wrong‑way entry sequence? If such data were not preserved, the opportunity to move from assumption to fact may already be lost.

Every wrong‑way collision demands more than confirmation of direction—it demands a clear, evidence‑based reconstruction of how the event unfolded and why no correction occurred. Without that depth of investigation, the conclusions may miss important contributing factors.

Takeaways:

• Wrong‑way‑ramp crashes require detailed path and timing reconstruction, not just noting direction of travel.
• Mechanical defects in either vehicle must be examined, even in apparent driver‑error situations.
• Electronic data—from vehicle modules or traffic/ramp cameras—is essential for verifying what happened.