A Car Plowed Into the Crowd at SXSW Last Night, Killing Two People
An allegedly drunk driver drove his car straight into a crowd of people last night at SXSW, right as concert-goers were exiting The Mohawk on Red River, a major venue for the festival. The crash, which happened around 12:30am, left two people dead, five more in critical condition, and 23 others with injuries.
The pair that were killed in the crash were reportedly riding a moped at the time of the accident, in which the driver apparently plowed his car through traffic barriers before hitting the crowd. According to Dallas News he then attempted to flee the scene on foot, and had to be subdued with a stun gun. The driver now faces two counts of capital murder as well as 23 counts of aggravated assault by vehicle, and as Spin points out, could face the death penalty if convicted. Their report also quotes a recent interview with the head of Austin’s DUI unit, who said, “Austin definitely has a drunk-driving problem.”
Well, this is just awful. We’ll add more information as updates come in, and in the meantime, we’re thinking of everyone who’s down in Austin right now.
Follow Virginia K. Smith on Twitter @vksmith.