A Comal ISD school bus transporting students from Canyon Lake High School collided with a red jeep at the intersection of FM 32 and FM 3424 around 5:30 p.m. today.
There are no official reports of injuries.
No further information about the accident is available, but Pct. 4 Comal County Commissioner Jen Crownover, returning from a Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) meeting in Blanco, said she pulled over to check on students.
Principal Mark Oberholtzer and CLHS staff were already on the scene.
“I think our Canyon Lake Fire/EMS, Comal County Sheriff’s Office and CISD Canyon Lake High officials were handling it exceptionally well,” Crownover said. “Since I was at the scene, I took pictures and was immediately in contact with TxDOT officials, as this intersection is completely in their jurisdiction.”
Crownover did not provide further details about the accident but promised “there are some changes on the horizon to improve the safety of these dangerous intersections.”
The intersection where the accident occurred is infamous for traffic collisions.
Michael Harwell owns a site development company at the intersection of FM 32 and FM 3424, and his security camera points right at the intersection, capturing many accidents and their aftermaths.
He shared emails with MyCanyonLake.com proving he’s warned TxDOT and Crownover for years about the dangers of that intersection as well as the one at FM 484 and FM 32.
“TxDOT is slow in reacting; they have known about this for years and are finally going to do something,” he said. “It’s in the design stage. I am told construction won’t start until 2027. I would say they are two to three years, maybe more, late in resolving this matter. They are proposing a roundabout. I’m not sure that’s the resolution. Seems to me they could have installed a light years ago…there is a huge problem there that won’t go away and only gets worse.”
In May, Harwell lost his brother in a horrific car accident just half a mile east of the FM 32 and FM 3424 intersection. It was the third accident of the day on FM 32.
On NextDoor, a man commenting on the death of Freddie Harwell dubbed FM 32 the “highway to heaven.”
In an April 22 email to MyCanyonLake.com, TxDOT Public Information Officer Tanya Brown confirmed “there is a funded operational improvement project in the planning stages” but declined to provide additional information.
TxDOT advocates for increased law-enforcement presence at intersections with frequent violations, she said.
On Facebook today, a resident whose family lives off FM 32 said every time she hears of an accident at the two intersections, she worries it’s one of them.
“It ‘s not just 32 but 306 and other areas out here,” she said. “Now they have all the barricades all down the road and that makes it worse. I don’t know what exactly will make the roads safer. I know plans for future stuff is in the works but what about until then? All the while, new neighborhoods are going in.”
TxDOT, Canyon Lake Fire/EMS and Comal ISD did not immediately respond to requests for more information about the accident.