Toll road planned along Highway 249 in NW Houston as part of expansion project

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- If you live on the northwest side, plans are in motion that could ultimately make your life a lot easier. County officials are one step closer to possibly creating a new toll way along Highway 249 from Spring Cypress all the way to FM 1488.

Along Highway 249, the signs are up, even if the project to turn this stretch of Tomball Parkway into a toll road has not yet begun.

"It's whatever the government tells us to do," said local flower shop worker Cyndi Sharp. "Do we really have a choice?"

Sharp may not be sold on the toll road idea. But Commissioner Jack Cagle is a big supporter of the 249 toll road. To get it done, Harris County commissioners approved a memorandum of understanding to lend Montgomery County up to $20 million to help study the toll project.

"Without Montgomery County, we won't be able to service our constituents who live in Harris County," Cagle said.

The toll road will eventually go through Harris and Montgomery counties, so if and when expansion occurs, both counties can continue at the same pace.

"Six or eight years ago, people didn't want to hear the word toll road," said Bruce Hillegeist with the Greater Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce.

Hillegeist says his organization knows the reality is they won't get any expanded Highway 249 if there is no toll. So the first phase of the project is set to start this fall, with two more phases planned for years ahead.

"The Texas Department of Transportation really laid it on the line for us -- no toll, no road," Hillegeist said.

A commissioner with Montgomery County tells Eyewitness News he also supports the toll road project.
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Car hits, kills two people and dog walking along Galveston Seawall

GALVESTON, TX (KTRK) -- We are learning more about the driver and the victims of Wednesday night's deadly crash. An eyewitness talks about the moment two men were killed by a car while walking a dog along Galveston's Seawall, and says the two victims didn't have a chance.

A few roses have been left outside Hi-5 Souvenir and Surf Shop, where the crash happened. Workers inside rushed to help the victims. They showed us surveillance video of what happened and it's very chilling.

There are still orange marks covering the sidewalk on the 1300 block of Seawall Boulevard. Those marks trace the path of that tragic accident that killed two men who were walking a dog outside Hi-5 on Wednesday night.

"I heard the screech of the tires, you know, screeching," said eyewitness Ron Narido.

He works at Hi-5. He says he was just steps away from the victims when a red car lost control, sped onto the sidewalk and hit the pedestrians from behind.

"The other guy here was holding the dog, and one person is right over here, and he got hit," Narido told Eyewitness News.

Police say the impact of that crash instantly killed the dog, its owner 42-year-old Steven Hunt, and 43-year-old Joseph Owen. Both were from Galveston.

Narido told us it all happened so fast.

"They didn't have a chance to jump, or go to the side, because it was so fast," he said.

Investigators say Matthew Shelton, 27, was the driver of that red car. Shelton is charged with two counts of intoxication manslaughter.

"We don't know why he lost control, however we do believe alcohol or other intoxicants played a factor," said Lt. Michael Gray with the Galveston Police Department.

Shelton and his passenger were also injured during the crash. Police say those two are at a local hospital with non life-threatening injuries.

As for Narido, he and his co-workers say they are still very shaken up after witnessing that tragic crash.

Police tell us they are still trying to find out what the suspect was doing and where he'd been before the crash. They are asking anyone with information to call Galveston police.

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Harris County considers tollway along Tomball Parkway

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Harris County is looking into the possibility of adding a tolled segment to the Tomball Parkway to accommodate increased traffic.

According to the Houston Chronicle, the county's toll road authority is asking that it be allowed to look at Highway 249. The extension could run from Spring-Cypress Road to FM 1774.

Toll road officials emphasize this is only a preliminary study.

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Woman charged in fatal hit-and-run wreck along Beaumont Highway

Lydia Mejia, 62, is charged with an accident that caused injury or death.

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A female driver has been charged in a deadly hit-and-run wreck along Beaumont Highway over the weekend.

The victim, Juan Mascotto, was walking on the side of the highway in the 11000 block near John Ralston on Saturday night when he was hit by a pickup truck. The driver told deputies he just didn't see Mascotto, but he did stop.

Then a second truck hit Mascotto and one of the people who had stopped to help. The driver, Lydia Mejia, took off, but bystanders caught her about a mile away.

Mejia, 62, is charged with an accident that caused injury or death.

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