A crazy **scene unfolded** on Texas 6 Monday afternoon when a ladder slipped out of a work truck, leading to a chaotic chain reaction. Before anyone could say “Jack Robinson,” a flurry of vehicles got tangled up, leaving a trail of banged-up metal and **hurt folks.** Now, **that’s something** you don’t see every day! This kind of mishap is as rare as a unicorn, yet it highlights the importance of double-checking your gear before hitting the road. **Stay tuned** to learn why being careful **can make all the difference**.

The driver of the vehicle which lost the ladder was ultimately cited for failing to secure his load properly, but while police and emergency vehicles were clearing the wreck he caused a few other drivers found a way to make the situation worse. Some drivers failed to slow down at the accident scene, lost control of their vehicles and caused more collisions.

The fact is, every one of these vehicle accidents could have been easily avoided if drivers had taken a moment to think before continuing to do what they had been doing (speeding, not paying attention, failing to yield.) The same is true of almost every vehicle collision. These can almost all be avoided by the driver taking responsibility for his/her own actions and doing the safe thing, the smart thing.

The Texas Department of Transportation is using the chain reaction collisions to launch a public safety campaign aimed at educating drivers about how to react at the scene of a collision. They hope that publicity about the chain reaction collisions and the resulting damage and injury will go a long way toward to making all Texas roads safer for everyone.

Two people were hospitalized and several drivers were cited Monday afternoon after a series of accidents in the southbound lanes of Texas 6 that started with a ladder flying out of the back of a truck near the Southwest Parkway exit.

College Station police said Elaine Gunn, 53, of College Station swerved to avoid hitting the ladder and lost control, causing her vehicle to roll twice about 4:39 p.m.

She was taken to College Station Medical Center with what officials described as non-life-threatening injuries.

Before emergency crews had cleared the accident, police said, the driver of a pickup that was traveling too fast tried to avoid traffic that was slowing in front of him and drove off the north side of the bridge over Harvey Road. No one in the truck was injured. The driver of the truck, Brian Noriega, 27, of Calvert was cited for failing to control speed.