Drivers on San Antonio’s West Side woke up to a nightmare commute when a deadly multi-vehicle crash on Highway 90 shut down a key stretch of road in the middle of a brutal winter blast. The wreck, which left one person dead and traffic at a standstill, unfolded as freezing rain and ice turned local highways into slick, unpredictable hazards. It was a grim snapshot of how quickly routine trips can turn tragic when severe weather and high-speed traffic collide.
The crash did not happen in isolation. It landed on a weekend and Monday stretch already packed with warnings about icy pavement, power outages, and a string of serious pileups across South Central Texas. For San Antonio, the Highway 90 shutdown became the most visible symbol of a city trying to move through record cold while its roads fought back.
Highway 90 Turns Deadly On The West Side
The fatal crash that shut down Highway 90 unfolded on the Wes Side near Cupples Road, where a multi-car collision left one person dead and traffic backed up for hours. Reporting from the scene described a tangle of damaged vehicles on 90 West, emergency lights cutting through the freezing air, and drivers stuck in place as police diverted everyone off the main lanes. The incident was serious enough that a portion of the highway on the West Side was fully closed while investigators documented the scene and tow trucks worked to clear the wreckage, a process that stretched well into the morning rush.
Coverage of the crash noted that a person was killed after a multi-car accident on 90 West near Cupples Road, with images showing first responders working along the barrier and shoulder as traffic stacked up behind them, a scene captured in a set of 5VIEW ALL PHOTOS that underscored the violence of the impact. One account described how the Man who died had been involved in a chain of collisions that left debris scattered across several lanes, forcing officers to block access and send drivers onto side streets. The West Side closure, reported by Christopher Hoffman, quickly became the focal point of a morning defined by ice, sirens, and frustration.
A Man Killed While Servicing His Truck
Layered into the same stretch of Highway 90 trouble was another heartbreaking detail: a Man who had pulled over to service his truck was hit and killed as traffic moved through the icy corridor. Police said the victim had stepped out to work on his vehicle when another driver lost control and struck him, turning a roadside repair into a fatal encounter in seconds. Both drivers involved in the impact stayed at the scene, and the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office was called in as San Antonio Fire Department crews, identified as SAFD, worked under harsh conditions to manage the crash site.
Investigators with SAPD described the incident as part of a broader Crash pattern on the West Side, where slick pavement and low visibility were already pushing first responders to their limits. The report noted that Jan conditions had been deteriorating for hours, and that emergency teams were juggling multiple calls as they tried to keep up with collisions and stranded vehicles. Details about the victim’s death, including confirmation from the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office and the fact that both drivers remained on scene, were laid out in a detailed account that underscored how unforgiving the conditions had become.
Deadly Crash Collides With The Morning Commute
For thousands of drivers, the Highway 90 shutdown did not just register as a headline, it hit right in the middle of the Monday morning grind. Traffic anchor Sarah Duran, speaking to viewers as the rush hour period built, warned that a deadly accident had closed a major stretch of the highway and that drivers should expect long delays. Her on-air greeting, “Hey, there,” quickly shifted into a sober breakdown of lane closures, alternate routes, and the reality that some commuters were not going to make it to work on time, if at all.
By the time the sun was fully up, the closure had turned into a rolling traffic jam that spilled onto feeder roads and neighborhood streets, as navigation apps tried to reroute drivers around the blocked lanes. The crash was serious enough that crews were not rushing the reopening, instead taking the time to reconstruct what happened and clear every piece of debris. Updates shared through Sarah Duran made it clear that anyone heading through the corridor needed to slow down, pack patience, and be ready for a very different kind of Monday.
Winter Storm Sets The Stage
The deadly Highway 90 crash did not come out of nowhere, it landed on top of a winter storm that had already iced over much of South Central Texas. Forecasters had been warning that it would be bitterly cold Monday and Tuesday mornings, with road temperatures dropping back below freezing even after some daytime melting. That meant any moisture left on the pavement could refreeze into invisible slick spots, especially on bridges and overpasses, turning routine commutes into a test of traction and reflexes.
Those warnings were not abstract. Meteorologists talked about record-breaking lows and stressed that, despite some melting, drivers needed to take it slow on the commute because patches of ice would linger into Mon and beyond. The broader forecast suggested that temperatures might stay below freezing all day in some areas before slowly warming later in the week, but that did little to help people already on the road. The Highway 90 wreck fit right into that pattern, a local example of what happens when drivers meet black ice at highway speeds, a risk laid out in detail in the winter forecast.
City Officials Scramble To Respond
City leaders had already been bracing for trouble on the roads, which is why they moved to extend basic services even before the worst of the freeze hit. The City of San Antonio announced that its 311 call center would operate with expanded hours through the cold snap, giving residents a way to report icy spots, downed limbs, and other hazards at all hours. The City of also urged drivers to use caution, especially on icy roadways, and to think twice before heading out if travel was not essential.
Those steps built on a broader push to keep people informed as freezing temperatures arrived Saturday night and continued into Sunday and Monday, a stretch that lined up almost perfectly with the Highway 90 crash. Officials framed the extended 311 hours as a practical tool for neighbors to help flag trouble spots that crews might miss, from untreated intersections to slick highway ramps. The message was clear: the city could deploy plows, sand, and emergency responders, but it needed residents to slow down and respect the conditions. That call for caution was spelled out in a formal notice that landed just as the freeze settled in.
Warnings Of Extreme Cold And Dangerous Roads
Alongside the service changes, local officials leaned hard on weather alerts to get people’s attention. An Extreme Cold Warning was issued for all of South Central Texas, with the alert spelling out that dangerously low wind chills and freezing conditions would stretch through midday Monday. The language was blunt, describing an EXTREME COLD WARNING that covered not just San Antonio but surrounding communities that share the same highways and commuter routes.
City leaders paired that warning with updates on shelters, warming centers, and transit adjustments, but the throughline was simple: if you did not have to drive, stay off the roads. The Highway 90 crash, along with other wrecks across the region, showed what could happen when those warnings met real-world habits. The same advisory that flagged the Extreme COLD WARNING for South Central Texas also pointed to the risk of icy bridges and overpasses, a risk that played out in multiple crashes as sleet and freezing rain coated the pavement. Those stakes were laid out in a detailed city update that tried to get ahead of exactly the kind of chaos that unfolded on Highway 90.
Other Crashes Paint A Bigger Regional Picture
The Highway 90 fatality was part of a much larger pattern of wrecks tied to the same winter system. Earlier in the weekend, a multivehicle crash involving approximately seven vehicles shut down part of Loop 1604 near Marbach Road on the far West Side, after Icy road conditions turned that stretch into a slide zone. That crash forced the closure of the Loop near Marbach and prompted fresh warnings for drivers in SAN ANTONIO to slow down and give themselves extra space, especially on elevated sections of highway.
Beyond the city limits, the same storm helped trigger a 12-vehicle pileup on Interstate 10 in Kimble County, where Texas DPS said road conditions were icy with sleet falling at the time of the wreck. That crash, described as Deadly and involving multiple Semi-trailers, left at least one person dead and snarled traffic for miles as crews worked to untangle the wreckage. The broader pattern of Multi crashes across Kimble County and the Hill Country, including the death of Florida driver John Robert Tracy on I-10, was detailed in reports that tied the pileup directly to icy road conditions and ongoing winter weather. Those regional stakes were laid out in coverage of the Kimble County crash and in follow up reporting that identified the victim and described how the Texas Department of Public Safety is still working to determine the sequence of events on the icy Interstate.
Power Outages, Citywide Strain, And A Call To Stay Home
While drivers wrestled with ice on the highways, people across San Antonio were also dealing with flickering lights and cold houses. The storm knocked out power in pockets of the city, leaving some residents without heat just as temperatures bottomed out. Reports on San Antonio Faces Power Outages And Icy Roads After Storm described how the freeze created a one-two punch of outages and dangerous driving conditions, stretching utility crews and first responders at the same time.
Local leaders responded by urging people to stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary, a message amplified in coverage that framed the situation as San Antonio Dealing with Winter Storm Impacts, including a 20-Car Pileup near I-10. The Mayor and City Officials used every available channel to tell residents to avoid driving during the worst of the weather, pointing to the combination of black ice, limited visibility, and overworked emergency crews. That plea was echoed in a radio briefing that linked the Highway 90 shutdown, the Car Pileup on I-10, and a string of other wrecks to the same simple problem: too many vehicles on roads that were not built for this kind of ice.
Lessons From Past Winter Crashes
For longtime Texans, the Highway 90 tragedy fits into a familiar and frustrating pattern. When Light precipitation falls and temperatures hover around freezing, roads that usually handle heavy traffic without a problem suddenly become treacherous. Historical data from other winter events in the state shows that Dozens of accidents can pile up in a matter of hours, with some fatalities indirectly related to the winter weather as drivers misjudge stopping distances or hit unseen ice. The current storm, with its mix of sleet, freezing rain, and bitter cold, checked all of those boxes.
Traffic safety experts often point to high profile crashes elsewhere to underline how quickly things can go wrong when speed and poor conditions mix. In one notorious case far from Texas, a race vehicle in California plowed into a crowd, killing eight spectators, a reminder that the crash was the latest in a series of fatal race accidents tied to high speeds and limited margins for error. While the Highway 90 wreck involved commuters rather than spectators, the underlying physics are the same: once a vehicle loses grip on a slick surface, there is only so much a driver can do. That broader context is reflected in federal and regional analyses of winter crashes, including summaries from past snow events and in international reporting on fatal race accidents that show how quickly a crowd or a highway can turn deadly.
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