Three Crashes on SH 6 in Southern Brazos County Sunday

Reported June 21, 2026

Fatal Reported

Three separate crashes in the space of a single Sunday afternoon on Highway 6 in southern Brazos County set off a chain reaction that left one person with serious injuries, sent others to the hospital, and shut down northbound lanes for more than two hours near the FM 159/Millican exit, according to reporting by KBTX and statements from the Texas Department of Public Safety.

• First Crash, Northbound Lanes: The initial wreck happened in the northbound lanes of Highway 6 early Sunday afternoon and drew Brazos County deputies to the scene to investigate and manage traffic.
• Second Crash, Chain-Reaction Rear-End: Around 1:10 p.m., a Ford F-150 driver failed to control speed and rear-ended a Toyota Tacoma that had slowed because of the first crash, with a Nissan Altima also caught up in the collision; DPS said no one suffered serious injuries in that second wreck.
• Third Crash, Distracted Driver Rollover: Less than an hour later, while traffic remained stopped, the driver of a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado told troopers he briefly looked down at the floorboard, then swerved into a ditch when he looked back up, and the pickup rolled over.
• Ejection and Serious Injury: One occupant of the Silverado was ejected from the vehicle and suffered serious injuries; the driver and two other occupants in the same truck sustained only minor injuries.
• Scene Clearance Timeline: All lanes of Highway 6 were reopened and the scene was fully cleared by approximately 3:40 p.m., according to DPS.

A Sunday Afternoon That Kept Compounding

What began as a single crash investigation on a busy Sunday afternoon quickly became something more complicated, with the backed-up traffic itself becoming a hazard for drivers who weren’t paying close enough attention. Brazos County deputies were still on the scene of the first wreck when the Ford F-150 ran into the Toyota Tacoma around 1:10 p.m., a rear-end collision that DPS said was caused by the F-150 driver failing to control speed as traffic had slowed ahead. A Nissan Altima was also caught up in that second collision, though DPS reported that the people hurt in that crash were taken to a hospital by private vehicle rather than by ambulance, suggesting the injuries were relatively minor.

The third crash, which caused the most serious injuries of the afternoon, unfolded in a way that DPS Sgt. Justin Ruiz described as a plain and preventable distraction. The driver of the 2007 Chevrolet Silverado told troopers he had briefly glanced down at the floorboard for no specific reason, and when he looked back up, the stopped traffic was right there. He swerved into a ditch and the pickup rolled over, ejecting one occupant who sustained serious injuries. The driver and two other people in the cab escaped with minor injuries, according to DPS.

Sgt. Ruiz used the afternoon’s events as an opportunity to reinforce a straightforward message: drivers need to stay focused, watch for changing traffic conditions, and reduce speed when approaching emergency scenes or backed-up traffic. For example, had the Silverado driver maintained attention on the road ahead, the entire third crash, including the ejection, could potentially have been avoided entirely.

Why Secondary Crashes Keep Happening on Texas Highways

Secondary crashes, which are collisions that happen because of congestion or hazards created by an earlier wreck, are a well-documented and serious concern on Texas roads. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) both recognize that the period immediately following a crash, when traffic is slowing or stopping unexpectedly, is one of the most dangerous stretches of time on any highway. Drivers approaching a slowdown at highway speeds have very little room for error, and even a brief distraction, like glancing at a phone or the floor, can turn a near-miss into a collision. Highway 6 in Brazos County carries substantial traffic between the Bryan-College Station metro area and points south, and two-lane or limited-access rural corridors like this one leave far less margin than an urban freeway with multiple lanes to absorb sudden stops.

Ejections, like the one that produced the most serious injury in Sunday’s third crash, are among the most dangerous outcomes of any rollover because the occupant is exposed to the full force of the vehicle and the road surface without the protection of the cabin structure. Safety advocates and NHTSA data consistently show that wearing a seat belt dramatically reduces the risk of ejection. TxDOT encourages all drivers and passengers to buckle up on every trip, regardless of distance, and to give emergency scenes and stopped traffic as wide a berth as possible. Drivers in Texas are also required by law to move over or slow down when passing emergency vehicles and active crash scenes under the state’s Move Over law.

• Secondary Crash Risk: When traffic stops suddenly because of an earlier crash, drivers who aren’t scanning far enough ahead can close the gap quickly, making rear-end and chain-reaction collisions a serious and recurring hazard at active crash scenes.
• Distracted Driving on Rural Highways: Even a momentary glance away from the road at highway speeds covers significant distance, and on a rural two-lane corridor like SH 6, there’s little room for last-second corrections before a driver is in a ditch or into another vehicle.
• Ejection Danger in Rollovers: Occupants who aren’t restrained by a seat belt can be thrown from the vehicle during a rollover, facing far greater injury risk than those who remain inside the cabin structure.
• Texas Move Over Law: State law requires drivers to change lanes away from or slow down significantly when passing law enforcement, emergency responders, and tow trucks working at the roadside, a rule that applies equally to active crash scenes with backed-up traffic.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where Exactly Did These Crashes Happen on SH 6

All three crashes occurred in the northbound lanes of Highway 6 in southern Brazos County, near the FM 159/Millican exit, according to KBTX and DPS. That’s a rural stretch of the corridor south of the Bryan-College Station area.

Were the Highway Lanes Closed for a Long Time

DPS said all lanes were reopened and the scene was fully cleared by approximately 3:40 p.m. on Sunday, roughly two or more hours after the first crash drew responders to the location.

What Caused the Most Serious Injury

According to DPS, the most seriously injured person was ejected from a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado during the third crash, which occurred when the driver briefly looked away from the road, swerved into a ditch, and the truck rolled over. DPS said three other occupants of the same vehicle sustained only minor injuries.