Heroes At Work

Police pull off daring rescue to save woman whose car plunged off bridge intothe Buffalo Bayou

A car crashed into Buffalo Bayou at Milam and Commerce around 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Photo by Tyler Rudick
The driver was removed from the car and taken to the hospital after emergencyworkers performed CPR.
Photo by Tyler Rudick
Emergency response crews removed the car from the bayou just after 5 p.m.
Photo by Fayza A. Elmostehi
A group of six or seven police officers happened to be at the scene as theaccident occurred, reported on eyewitness.
Photo by Tyler Rudick
Police officers performed CPR on the woman until she began to respond. Oneofficer dove into the water to search for other possible passengers.
Photo by Fayza A. Elmostehi
Photo by Fayza A. Elmostehi

A car drove into Buffalo Bayou at the intersection of Commerce and Milam right before the afternoon rush hour Wednesday, prompting a daring police rescue and a frantic scene that drew nearby office workers and gripped people who followed a near play-by-play of the unfolding drama on Twitter.

Eyewitness Donnie Sagers, who works in the area, said he saw the vehicle crash through the guardrails running along the bridge on Milam and land into the water about 30 feet below. A small group of six or seven Houston Police Department officers happened to be at the scene as the accident occurred, Sagers noted. The officers ran down to the banks of the Bayou, where the car landed on its side and started to sink into the water.

The officers took off their gun belts and dove into the Bayou's murky waters.

"They pulled her out of the passenger's (side) door and asked if anyone else was in the car," Sagers told CultureMap. "She couldn't answer, so one of the police officers just dove into the water to see if there were any other people in there."

Sagers watched the police officers performed CPR on the woman until she appeared to be breathing. "They brought her back before the paramedics arrived," he said.

Within minutes, the four-door blue car was completely submerged into the Bayou's waters. The driver, a woman in her twenties or thirties according to several witnesses, was taken away to the hospital where she's in a coma.

The Houston Fire Department, working with HPD, later lifted the car out of the water a little after 5 p.m.

The cause of the crash remains unknown, as does the identity of the driver.

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Hot Headlines

Houston Tex-Mex restaurant reboots as steakhouse and more top stories

Courtesy of Superica

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Editor's note: It's time to catch up on the top Houston news of the week, including a Tex-Mex restaurant's upcoming reboot and the much-anticipated RodeoHouston concert lineup. Read on for our most popular stories of the week, then head here for more weekend fun.

1. Houston Tex-Mex restaurant to shutter and reopen as a casual steakhouse. A restaurant in the Heights is switching from Tex-Mex to steaks. Rocket Farm will close its Tex-Mex restaurant Superica on February 15 and reopen the space as Star Rover, a casual steakhouse, on February 26.

2. RodeoHouston reveals 2026 lineup starring Lizzo, Lainey Wilson, and Creed. After months of social media anticipation, the lineup for this year’s RodeoHouston concert series has been revealed. It’s a year of homegrown talent making bucket list appearances, intriguing debuts, reliable stunners, and millennial nostalgia.

3. Sawyer Yards cafe closes as Astro-owned Houston coffee brand pivots. A Houston hospitality group is shifting from operating cafes to selling coffee products to as many people as possible. Rex Hospitality’s decision to focus on products such as cold brew concentrate means that Maven Coffee in Sawyer Yards has closed, but the space will soon reopen as the newest outpost of a growing Houston coffee shop.

4. New Texas-sized dance hall and saloon two-steps into Houston mall. A massive country music dance hall is two-stepping into Houston. Cowboys Red River Dance Hall and Saloon will open its third Texas location this month at Plazamericas, the Latin-themed shopping mall and entertainment complex in Southwest Houston.

5. Soccer-obsessed Houston sports bar flies into new home in Montrose. An enduring Montrose sports bar is making a big move this fall. The Phoenix on Westheimer will move from its current location to a new home at 1643 Richmond Avenue.

The Phoenix will move from Westheimer to Richmond. The Phoenix on Westheimer/Facebook

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