A tow truck driver believes his suspension failed shortly before the vehicle hit a fence. He now warns others that accidents can happen at any time.
HOUSTON – A tow truck driver is thankful to be alive after his truck crashed near a home in northwest Houston.
Speaking to KHOU 11, truck driver Amer Haj Mahmoud said it was a close call. The accident caused the truck to crash into a light pole and two different fences.
“I live. I’m in one piece,” he said. “Like my head… with the windshield I could have gone flying out, there was a light pole sticking out from the impact that could have gone through me or whatever.”
According to Houston police, the accident occurred just before noon Friday near the intersection of Hammerly Boulevard and Pomeran Drive.
What caused the accident? Mahmoud believes the truck's suspension failed for no apparent reason. The truck then jumped a curb and began sliding on a homeowner's wet lawn, digging trenches in the mud.
“When the suspension failed and the tire fell on its side, I had no control of the steering wheel at all,” he explained.
Mahmoud said he had to climb through the passenger window to get out of the truck. He suffered a cut to his forehead and leg. The homeowner whose fence was torn down told KHOU 11 he was inside his home at the time of the accident.
As a tow truck driver, Mahmoud said he is usually the one helping others at accident scenes. He wants to use his experience to remind people that accidents can happen to anyone at any time.
“Drive carefully because there is not just your life out there, there are many lives on the same road as you,” he said. “You have to be careful and ready to react no matter what happens.”