Driver runs car into South by Southwest crowd, killing 2 and injuring 23
Published March 13, 2014
Two people were killed and 23 others were injured when a suspected drunk driver fleeing arrest drove his car through temporary barricades and into a crowd of people leaving a musical performance at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Tex., police said early Thursday.
Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo told a news conference that a man and a woman were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, which happened at around 12:30 a.m. Acevedo said the two people who died were on a moped that the motorist hit along with pedestrians who were leaving a club where a concert had been held. Neither victim's identity was released.
Acevedo said that of the 23 people injured, five were critically hurt. Austin Police Lt. Brian Moon told the Associated Press that most who were transported to local hospitals had minor injuries.
The chief said that the driver, who has not been identified, will be charged with two counts of capital murder in connection with the deaths, as well as 23 counts of aggravated assault with a vehicle. Acevedo said the man also struck a cab before jumping out of his car and trying to flee on foot. Officers shocked him with a stun gun and took him into custody.
South by Southwest, an overlapping set of music, film, and emerging technology festivals, has been held in Austin every year since 1987, and traditionally draws thousands of people to the Texas capital.
The street was full of concert-goers just minutes before the tragedy, but officials had moved some people onto the sidewalk due to the presence of a fire lane.
"We had a large crowd," Acevedo said. "I just thank God that a lot of the folks had already been pushed on the sidewalk or this could have been a lot worse."
Acevedo asked witnesses and those who may have taken video to contact police rather than post their footage to the Internet.
Police said the man pulled into a nearby gas station in a silver Toyota sedan after an officer working a drunken-driving patrol tried to stop him. He wove his way through a series of parked cars, then took off at high speed the wrong way down a one-way street. He took a right turn on Red River Street, crashing through a barricade and narrowly missing a police officer who was standing guard.
He hit some of the victims in front of The Mohawk, a local club hosting Spin events during the five-day music conference. He continued down the street where he struck and killed the two victims on the moped and then hit the cab before finally crashing.
Officers had closed off a two-block section of downtown Austin and continued to investigate into the morning. Acevedo said there were no plans to change safety protocols at the festival due to the accident.
"We do these events very well, but you cannot stop a person who rather than face drunk driving charges decides to speed at a high rate of speed, go around a uniformed officer forcing him to run out of the way, then at a high rate of speed show total disregard for the sanctity of human life," Acevedo said.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/03/1...car-plows-into-crowd-near-south-by-southwest/
Published March 13, 2014
Two people were killed and 23 others were injured when a suspected drunk driver fleeing arrest drove his car through temporary barricades and into a crowd of people leaving a musical performance at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Tex., police said early Thursday.
Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo told a news conference that a man and a woman were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, which happened at around 12:30 a.m. Acevedo said the two people who died were on a moped that the motorist hit along with pedestrians who were leaving a club where a concert had been held. Neither victim's identity was released.
Acevedo said that of the 23 people injured, five were critically hurt. Austin Police Lt. Brian Moon told the Associated Press that most who were transported to local hospitals had minor injuries.
The chief said that the driver, who has not been identified, will be charged with two counts of capital murder in connection with the deaths, as well as 23 counts of aggravated assault with a vehicle. Acevedo said the man also struck a cab before jumping out of his car and trying to flee on foot. Officers shocked him with a stun gun and took him into custody.
South by Southwest, an overlapping set of music, film, and emerging technology festivals, has been held in Austin every year since 1987, and traditionally draws thousands of people to the Texas capital.
The street was full of concert-goers just minutes before the tragedy, but officials had moved some people onto the sidewalk due to the presence of a fire lane.
"We had a large crowd," Acevedo said. "I just thank God that a lot of the folks had already been pushed on the sidewalk or this could have been a lot worse."
Acevedo asked witnesses and those who may have taken video to contact police rather than post their footage to the Internet.
Police said the man pulled into a nearby gas station in a silver Toyota sedan after an officer working a drunken-driving patrol tried to stop him. He wove his way through a series of parked cars, then took off at high speed the wrong way down a one-way street. He took a right turn on Red River Street, crashing through a barricade and narrowly missing a police officer who was standing guard.
He hit some of the victims in front of The Mohawk, a local club hosting Spin events during the five-day music conference. He continued down the street where he struck and killed the two victims on the moped and then hit the cab before finally crashing.
Officers had closed off a two-block section of downtown Austin and continued to investigate into the morning. Acevedo said there were no plans to change safety protocols at the festival due to the accident.
"We do these events very well, but you cannot stop a person who rather than face drunk driving charges decides to speed at a high rate of speed, go around a uniformed officer forcing him to run out of the way, then at a high rate of speed show total disregard for the sanctity of human life," Acevedo said.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/03/1...car-plows-into-crowd-near-south-by-southwest/
