Accident sends woman 40 feet to her death off W. Loop overpass

What happened to a 29-year-old woman on a Galleria-area freeway last night about 11 p.m. is every driver's nightmare, authorities said.

She was going south on Loop 610 heading toward Bellaire. When she got to the section that crosses over Highway 59, the Southwest Freeway, her Hyundai Tuscon SUV stalled.

Authorities said that's when she made a fatal error. She got out and started tinkering under the hood. Police said she did not have her flashers or lights on. In the meantime, two drivers behind her were approaching quickly in her lane.

"A gray Lexus struck the Hyundai in the back and then striking the female that was standing in the front, sending her off the freeway," said Houston Police Sgt. Ignacio Izaguirre.

The woman, who police have not identified publicly, fell off the freeway about 40 feet to the ground below. She died at the scene. Experts said it was not a freak accident.

"It's not freak in that it never happens because we see it more than you might think and it's tragic," said TranStar Public Information Officer Dinah Massie.

Massie said it happens so often that TranStar put together a warning video. It shows drivers doing all the wrong things after stalling on the freeway.

Massie said the first thing drivers should do is get out of traffic.

"Try to limp it off the freeway. I don't mean just to the shoulder. I mean all the way off the roadway," Massie said.

Whether a stalled driver can get off the freeway or not, Massie said drivers should always turn on their flashers, buckle up and stay in their car.

"Stay absolutely in the vehicle because it's a metal cage around you that protects you," she said. "If somebody had hit her car, she might be in the hospital but she might be with us. It's very sad."

Massie said there is only one thing that would ever make her get out of her stranded car.

"I would only do that if the car were actually on fire. I mean I can't imagine a time I would ever leave my vehicle in traffic."

The fatal accident happened near the epicenter of the busiest freeway interchange in the state, Loop 610 at 59 Southwest near the Galleria is notoriously congested and dangerous. Police said the driver who hit the victim's SUV was not impaired and faces no charges.

Raw video: HPD investigates freak accident along W. Loop