Quick Answer
- Midland County’s safety plan lists portions of I-20, SH 349, SH 158, and FM 307 among its road segments with the highest fatal-crash counts for 2018–2022.
- In Ector County, SH 191 at Loop 338 had 268 crashes in the regional plan’s 2019–2023 intersection analysis. That is a count of all crashes, not deaths.
- The local studies repeatedly flag speed, lane departures, failure to yield, and impaired driving. The roadway, time period, and type of crash matter when comparing locations.
Key Takeaways
- A road with frequent fender-benders may rank differently from a road with fewer but more severe crashes.
- Historical safety plans identify places to investigate and improve. They do not establish who caused an individual wreck.
- Midland city streets, the county study area, and Ector County have different datasets. Their totals should not be combined into one ranking.
- After a serious wreck, get care and save evidence promptly. Texas generally allows two years to file an injury lawsuit, but video may be gone much sooner.
Ryan Orsatti Law reviews serious car and truck crashes across Texas, including the road layout, driver conduct, and records that can help explain a collision in Midland or Ector County.
Which Midland County roads had the most fatal crashes?
The Midland County safety plan’s High-Injury Network table puts the listed I-20 segment first by fatal-crash count, followed by the listed SH 349 and SH 158 segments. A High-Injury Network is a set of roads selected for safety attention because of their crash history. These are selected road segments in the plan, not a current ranking of every mile in both counties.
| Road | Study limits | Fatal crashes | Suspected serious-injury crashes |
|---|---|---|---|
| I-20 | 1,500 ft west of Market St to 3,000 ft east of CR 1150 | 14 | 21 |
| SH 349 | I-20 to CR 270 | 12 | 22 |
| SH 158 | CR 1150 to the county line | 11 | 19 |
| FM 307 | I-20 to CR 1050 | 7 | 15 |
| FM 1379 | FM 307 to SH 158 | 5 | 2 |
Source: Midland County’s 2024 Comprehensive Safety Action Plan, Table 7, printed page 40. Fatal crashes are collisions involving a death. They are not the number of people killed. Different segment lengths and traffic volumes also limit what a raw count can tell a driver about risk on a particular trip.
Attorney Insight: For someone hurt near these roads, record the nearest cross street, driveway, ramp, and direction of travel. “On I-20” can mean a main lane, an entrance ramp, or a frontage road. Those locations can have different traffic controls and very different views of approaching vehicles.
Where are Ector County’s highest-crash intersections?
SH 191 at Loop 338 leads the Ector County locations in the regional safety plan’s high-crash intersection table. The following locations are ordered by total reported crashes during the study period. They are not ordered by deaths.
| Intersection | Total crashes | Measure |
|---|---|---|
| SH 191 and Loop 338 | 268 | All crash severities |
| SH 191 and US 385 | 197 | All crash severities |
| Business I-20 and Loop 338 | 172 | All crash severities |
| SH 191 and Spur 588 | 155 | All crash severities |
| Spur 450 and SH 302 | 151 | All crash severities |
Source: Permian Basin Regional Planning Commission, Comprehensive Safety Action Plan, Table 9, printed page 40. The regional analysis excludes the City of Midland and the southern portion of Midland County, which have separate plans. Its intersection list cannot serve as a complete Midland-versus-Ector comparison.
At an interchange, identify which approach was involved. A collision at a ramp terminal may raise questions about turning, a signal, or a queue. A collision on the main lanes may raise different questions about following distance or lane changes. The interchange’s name alone does not resolve that distinction.
Which areas inside the City of Midland need attention?
Loop 250 interchanges feature prominently in Midland’s 2025 Traffic Crash Report. The city lists Andrews Highway at Loop 250 with 63 crashes, Loop 250 at Thomason with 46, Loop 250 at Big Spring with 37, Loop 250 at Midkiff with 34, and I-20 at Rankin with 31.
The city’s table counts crashes within a 200-foot buffer of each listed signalized intersection. Those figures do not measure every collision on the named road. The report’s crash-rate table also cautions that it lacks crash data for TxDOT intersections, so the city list should not be presented as an exhaustive inventory of all highway interchanges.
The city’s separate safety plan identifies Big Spring Street, Andrews Highway, and Wall Street as roads with concentrations of bicycle and pedestrian crashes in its 2018–2022 analysis. Its High-Injury Network covered 4% of city roads while capturing 58% of fatal crashes. That helps explain why safety work can focus on a limited set of streets rather than treating the whole city alike.
What are the biggest driving safety problems, and why?
The local studies point to speed, drifting out of a lane, unsafe crossings and turns, and impairment as recurring problems. These are reported crash factors and safety priorities. They do not establish that a particular driver committed an offense or that one cause explains every collision.
Speed and failure to slow for traffic
Speed stands out in the Ector County findings: the regional plan associates speeding with 31.6% of its fatal, serious-injury, and minor-injury crashes there. Midland County’s separate study identifies failure to control speed as its most frequent contributing factor, appearing in 1,061 crashes during 2018–2022.
NHTSA explains that excessive speed increases stopping distance and crash severity and reduces a driver’s ability to handle curves or avoid a hazard. The practical concern is not limited to a speedometer reading. A driver approaching stopped traffic must have enough room to react and stop. “Failed to control speed” should not automatically be described as proof that the driver exceeded a posted limit.
Lane departures and head-on exposure
Leaving a travel lane is another recurring safety problem in the local plans. A lane departure means a vehicle moves out of its lane or off the roadway. The reason needs investigation: a witness may describe a sudden swerve, while vehicle marks, video, or the driver’s account may suggest something else.
On a road without a physical divider, a lane departure can put a vehicle into the path of opposing traffic. Ask where the vehicle crossed the line, what the driver was responding to, and whether another vehicle’s movement forced a response. A report code identifies a question to investigate; it does not answer every part of it.
Failure to yield at stops and left turns
Failure to yield at a stop sign and while turning left both appear among Midland County’s most frequent reported crash factors. Yielding means allowing traffic with the right of way to proceed before you enter its path.
A driver can stop and still choose an unsafe gap. At a wide crossing or driveway, the evidence should show how far the entering vehicle had to travel, what the driver could see, and where approaching traffic was when the turn began. A truck’s slower movement through a turn can also make the timing important. That is a question for the particular crash, not a reason to presume truck-driver fault.
Impairment, distraction, and overlapping factors
Impairment and distraction remain concerns even when another factor ranks higher. Midland’s city safety plan identifies impaired driving in 23% and speed-related factors in 32% of its fatal and suspected serious-injury crashes in the 2018–2022 analysis. Those groups can overlap, so adding the percentages would misstate the findings.
A phone visible in a vehicle does not establish distraction at the moment of impact. Likewise, an allegation of alcohol use needs supporting evidence. Preserve the relevant records and distinguish what a witness saw from what the witness assumed.
Why can a dangerous location still produce a disputed injury claim?
A known crash location does not establish who caused your collision. The other driver may argue that you entered against a signal, followed too closely, or misjudged a turn. That argument deserves to be tested against the evidence, even where the road has a serious crash history.
Attorney Insight: A high-crash ranking is background. To evaluate fault, reconstruct the approach: which signal controlled the driver, where the queue ended, what blocked the view, and when each vehicle entered the conflict area. Ask a witness what the witness could actually see. Someone who heard the impact may be helpful without having seen the light or the turn.
For a commercial vehicle, identify the business operating the trip and the records it held. Dispatch instructions, cameras, and vehicle data may help compare the accounts. Our guide to preserving evidence after a Permian Basin truck crash explains why that work should begin promptly.
A safety recommendation in an older plan also does not establish that the road was legally defective on the day of your wreck. Conditions may have changed. Photograph the actual signs, lane markings, construction layout, and sight lines when it is safe to do so.
What should you do after a wreck on these roads?
Get medical help first, then preserve the details needed to identify the location and explain the crash.
- Call for help and get out of danger. Follow responders’ instructions and do not stand in traffic to collect evidence.
- Save the exact location. Note the direction, lane, nearest cross street, and whether you were on the highway, ramp, frontage road, or driveway.
- Keep original photos and video. Include traffic controls and the vehicle positions if you can do so safely. Save your dashcam footage before it records over the event.
- Write down witness details. Keep names and contact information, along with where each person was and what they observed.
- Track treatment and missed work. Keep discharge instructions, follow-up records, bills, and messages about changes to your work duties.
- Check the filing deadline. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003 generally requires an injury lawsuit within two years after the claim arises, usually the crash date. An insurance claim is not a substitute for filing suit.
If a government vehicle or agency may be involved, have the deadline reviewed promptly. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 101.101 can impose a separate notice requirement. Do not assume every claim has the same timetable.
How Ryan Orsatti Law reviews Midland and Ector crash claims
Ryan Orsatti Law is based in San Antonio and handles Texas car accident injury claims and serious truck accident cases. A Midland or Ector County case may require comparing the police report with video, witness accounts, treatment records, and the road as it existed at the time. You can request a free consultation in English or Spanish to discuss those next steps.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the deadliest road in Midland County?
The listed I-20 segment had the most fatal crashes in Midland County’s High-Injury Network table for 2018–2022. That finding applies to the specified study segment and years. It does not rank all of I-20 against every other road today, and it does not identify who caused a particular crash.
Is SH 191 and Loop 338 the deadliest intersection in Odessa?
The regional safety plan places SH 191 at Loop 338 first by total crashes in its 2019–2023 high-crash intersection table. Total crashes include different injury levels. That ranking does not establish that the intersection had the most deaths. A death-based ranking would require comparable fatal-crash data for the other intersections.
Why do Midland’s city and county crash lists look different?
The lists cover different locations, time periods, and measures. A city intersection table may count collisions near a signal, while a county safety plan examines longer road segments. Some studies count all crashes; others focus on deaths and serious injuries. Check those boundaries before treating two numbers as a direct comparison.
Should I wait for fault to be decided before calling a lawyer?
You do not need to wait for an insurer to decide fault before asking about a serious crash. Get care and preserve the available evidence first. A lawyer can review the location, identify potential video or company records, and check deadlines while the investigation is still underway. Missing evidence may make the review harder.
Source Notes
- Midland County, 2024 Comprehensive Safety Action Plan: 2018–2022 crash analysis; contributing factors on printed page 25; selected High-Injury Network segments in Table 7, printed page 40.
- Permian Basin Regional Planning Commission, Comprehensive Safety Action Plan: study exclusions on printed page 10; Ector County factor finding in Table 6, page 34; high-crash intersections in Table 9, page 40. Data period: 2019–2023.
- City of Midland, 2025 Traffic Crash Report: intersection counts and scope note on printed page 2; crash-rate table caveat on page 3.
- City of Midland, 2024 Comprehensive Safety Action Plan: bicycle and pedestrian corridors on printed page 30; safety emphasis areas on page 33; High-Injury Network findings on page 42. Data period: 2018–2022.
- NHTSA, Speeding: stopping distance, vehicle control, and crash severity.
- Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003 and § 101.101: general filing deadline and government-claim notice provision.
Ryan Orsatti Law
4634 De Zavala Rd, San Antonio, TX 78249
Phone: 210-525-1200
ryanorsattilaw.com
This blog is for informational purposes only, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Past results do not guarantee future results.
Hurt in an accident in San Antonio? Learn how a San Antonio truck accident lawyer can help with your claim. Call 210-525-1200 or request a free consultation.
The firm works on a contingency fee. You pay nothing unless the firm recovers money for you, and that covers case expenses as well as the fee: if there is no recovery, you owe no attorney's fee and no case expenses. Ask for the fee agreement and read the fee and expense section before you sign anything.
Related San Antonio legal resources
Primary legal and public-data sources
Ryan Orsatti Law
4634 De Zavala Road, San Antonio, TX 78249
General reference links. Consult each source for its current text.