News for North Texas
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

During Crazy LBJ Traffic Jam, Dallas Police Officer Sent Motorists Up A Closed Ramp

AshleyLowellDoussard/‏@AshleyNBC5
/
Twitter
A Dallas police officer directed some motorists off LBJ Freeway Tuesday, which may explain why some motorists drove in the wrong direction.

Five stories that have North Texas talking: more details on Tuesday’s strange traffic scene on LBJ; Big Hoss has its big debut; a Northeast Texas woman has given birth to quintuplets; and more. 

We’re getting a better understanding of why Interstate 635 traffic got so crazy Tuesday afternoon. (If you recall, some motorists took a U-turn and headed in the wrong direction on LBJ.) The Dallas Police Department says that an officer appears to have directed some motorists up a closed ramp to try to get them off the freeway. A multi-car wreck shut down all eastbound lanes on LBJ near the Audelia Road exit in northern Dallas. Motorists took matters into their own hands, turning around on the highway, going in the wrong direction, trying to maneuver around cars stuck in traffic. It was a crazy scene captured by local TVstations. Jalopnik even chimed in, saying: “Dear Dallas, This is why you don’t turn around on the highway.” Some motorists told local media that police directed them in the wrong direction. Fourteen Dallas police squads were assigned to help with the accident scene and traffic jam. “We regret that because of the location of the collisions, limited access to alternate routes and directions to a closed ramp by our officer, the problem was not cleared sooner,” Dallas police said in a statement.

  • Big Hoss had its big debut Wednesday night at Texas Motor Speedway.TMS says it’s the world’s biggest HD video board at a sporting venue.It’s waybigger than the one at the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium. The new screen features nearly 21,000 square feet of 1080p high-definition goodness, topping the 16,000-square-foot board built at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The Texas speedway says that Texas has seven of the world’s 50 largest HD video boards. A&E’s “Duck Dynasty” was shown on Big Hoss. Earlier this year, TMS announced a sponsorship deal with Duck Commander, the company featured on “Duck Dynasty.” The April 6 NASCAR Sprint Cup race will be called the "Duck Commander 500."

  • As we recently reported, Conan O’Brien is coming to Dallas – he’ll be taping his TBS show at the Majestic Theatre March 31-April 3. And now we know who will appear on his show. Guests include actor Adam Sandler and comic Tig Notaro on March 31; actor Seth Rogan and singer Philip Phillips on April 1; actor Simon Heiberg and Eli Young Band on April 2; and retired NBA player Charles Barkley on April 3. Tickets to O’Brien’s shows have been distributed, but standby tickets will be made available on the day of each taping.

  • A Northeast Texas woman has given birth to quintuplets at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. The Texarkana Gazette reports that Michelle Seals of Maud had the four girls and one boy Tuesday afternoon via cesarean section. The children's grandmother, Carol Pearce, says her daughter and all five babies are doing well. Steven Seals says he and his wife have names picked out for the quintuplets but will have to decide what name fits which baby. The Seals also have a 2-year-old son.

  • Can’t get enough SXSW coverage? Well, NPR gives you your fix, this time with a look at staffers’ “favorite discoveries and memorable moments.” Among the groups that impressed the NPR crew: a British jazz-punk group called Melt Yourself Down; Sean Lennon and Charlotte Kemp Muhl's band; and Anamanaguchi, an instrumental, electronic group.

Eric Aasen is KERA’s managing editor. He helps lead the station's news department, including radio and digital reporters, producers and newscasters. He also oversees keranews.org, the station’s news website, and manages the station's digital news projects. He reports and writes stories for the website and contributes pieces to KERA radio. He's discussed breaking news live on various public radio programs, including The Takeaway, Here & Now and Texas Standard, as well as radio and TV programs in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.