Devin Downey | Sep 18 2026 21:57

Nine of These Eleven Counties Sit on I-35: Central Texas Truck Crashes in 2025

Bexar County had 2,581 crashes involving big trucks and buses in 2025. That is the highest in Central Texas and the third highest in the state. Travis County had 648.

Add up all eleven counties below and you get 5,697 truck crashes, close to 1 out of every 7 in Texas.

But look at the list itself and something jumps out. Nine of these eleven counties sit right on I-35, or a few minutes off it.

Where these numbers come from

Texas publishes a yearly count of truck and bus crashes in every county as part of TxDOT's annual crash reports. The numbers come from the crash reports police file after a wreck.

Note that the state counts more than 18-wheelers. Box trucks, buses, and other large work vehicles are in the total. The federal version of this report is Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts.

This article shares public safety data. It is not legal advice.

Central Texas counties, ranked

Rank County Truck and bus crashes Deadly crashes Deaths Serious injury crashes
1 Bexar 2,581 12 16 32
2 Travis 648 7 11 22
3 Williamson 514 2 2 22
4 McLennan 423 6 6 17
5 Guadalupe 392 4 4 17
6 Bell 382 6 7 3
7 Hays 232 2 2 8
8 Comal 222 0 0 4
9 Bastrop 126 3 3 2
10 Caldwell 95 0 0 5
11 Burnet 82 3 3 3

One highway explains most of this list

San Antonio and Austin are the big cities, so of course they lead. The interesting part is everything in between them.

Williamson had 514 crashes. McLennan had 423, Guadalupe 392, and Bell 382. Hays had 232 and Comal had 222. Line those counties up on a map and they form an almost unbroken chain along I-35, running from Waco down through Temple, Killeen, Georgetown, Round Rock, Austin, San Marcos, New Braunfels, and Seguin into San Antonio.

Much of that corridor was farmland not long ago. Now it carries both heavy freight and fast suburban growth on the same pavement. Neighborhoods, school traffic, and long-haul trucks all share roads that were not designed for the mix.

Two counties on this list deserve credit. Comal County had 222 truck crashes and not a single deadly one. Caldwell County had 95 and also zero. That is a real safety outcome for counties carrying that much traffic.

Travis County's crashes killed more people per wreck

Travis County had 7 deadly truck crashes in 2025. Those 7 crashes killed 11 people.

That works out to more than one death per fatal wreck, which is a worse ratio than either Dallas or Harris County that year. It usually means crashes with several people in a vehicle, or crashes involving more than two vehicles.

Bexar County looked similar, with 12 deadly crashes and 16 deaths.

Now flip to the other end of the list. Burnet County had only 82 truck crashes all year, but 3 of them killed someone. That is the highest rate in the region, and Bastrop County was not far behind.

This is the same pattern we found in North Texas and on the Gulf Coast. The counties with the fewest truck crashes are usually where a truck crash is most likely to be fatal.

The reason is not complicated. Rural roads mean higher speeds and more two-lane stretches, which makes head-on crashes more likely. Help is also farther away, and the nearest trauma hospital may be a long drive.

Texas health officials found the same thing using ambulance and hospital records instead of police reports. Truck crashes happen in rural areas more often than car crashes, and almost 4 in 10 happen between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

The year-over-year picture

Bexar County had 2,581 truck crashes in 2025, down from 2,684 in the 2024 report. That is a drop of about 4 percent. Travis County barely moved at all, going from 646 to 648.

Central Texas did not see big swings in either direction this year. Holding steady at these numbers is not the same as getting safer, though.

What this means for you

If any part of your drive runs on I-35 between Waco and San Antonio, you are on one of the most heavily trucked roads in Texas. Add constant construction and the speed gap between local drivers and through traffic, and you get a lot of chances for something to go wrong.

Watch out where I-35 meets the newer suburbs, in Williamson, Hays, Comal, and Guadalupe counties. That is where drivers running quick local errands mix with trucks that have been rolling for hours.

Bell and McLennan counties are worth a closer look too. Each had 6 deadly truck crashes on fewer than 500 total. That is a higher death rate than either Austin or San Antonio.

What to do if a truck hits you

Truck crashes work differently than car crashes, and the difference matters.

Trucking companies often get people to the scene within hours to gather evidence and shape the story. Most families have no idea that is happening.

The proof you need can also vanish on a timer. Trucks record how long a driver has been behind the wheel. Federal hours-of-service rules limit that time, and 49 CFR Part 395 sets the exact limits. An electronic logging device in the truck captures most of it, and companies are allowed to erase some of those records after a set number of days.

Crashes on a corridor like I-35 add another problem. The truck that hit you may belong to a company based in another state, hauling a load arranged by a broker somewhere else, on a schedule set by a shipper in a third place. Sorting out who is responsible takes work, and it starts with getting the records before they are gone.

A few things help:

  1. Call the police and make sure a crash report gets written.
  2. See a doctor, even if you feel fine. Some injuries take days to appear.
  3. Take photos of everything, including the truck and any company name on it.
  4. Do not give a recorded statement to the trucking company's insurance.
  5. Call a lawyer soon, so a letter can go out telling the company to save its records.

Our pages on driver fatigue and hours-of-service violations and black box and ELD evidence go deeper on both. We also have an evidence preservation checklist after a Texas truck accident you can work through right now.

Talk to Bryan Green and his team

If your family has suffered a death, traumatic brain injury, spine injury, or other life-changing harm in a crash involving an 18-wheeler or commercial vehicle, Bryan Green Law handles a limited number of serious cases across Texas.

There is no charge to talk, and you owe nothing unless we win. These cases turn on evidence that does not stay around forever, so calling early makes a real difference.

Bryan Green built his practice on truck and commercial vehicle cases, including cases out of Austin.

Call us or use our contact page to set up a free case review.

Are you a lawyer holding a truck case? See our co-counsel and referral page.

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