HOUSTON -- A portion of the North Loop was closed for more than six hours Wednesday after a fiery, late-night wreck involving an 18-wheeler and car.
The crash happened just before 11 p.m. Tuesday on the North Loop near Ella Boulevard.
Houston police believe two cars were racing in the westbound lanes, when one of the cars cut off an 18-wheeler, which was carrying vehicles.
The rig clipped the car, causing the driver to lose control and flip the vehicle, police said.
The rig then smashed into a middle retaining wall and caught fire, and the flames spread to the cars it was carrying.
The blaze was so big, it melted the freeway sign above it.
Police said a married couple and their three dogs were in the 18-wheeler at the time of the crash, but they escaped unharmed. The car had two men and two women inside.
One woman was taken to Memorial Hermann Northwest Hospital with minor injuries, police said.
The driver was handcuffed at the scene.
Police said the second man in the car stashed a bag of marijuana under a concrete retaining wall and fled the crash site.
Officers were still looking for him Wednesday morning.
Charges have yet to be filed against the driver.
The westbound lanes of the freeway reopened around 5 a.m.
