CNN’s Rosa Flores reports that a suspected drunk driver in pursuit by police plowed into a crowd on Red River Street in front of The Mohawk night club at SXSW (WARNING VIDEO SHOWS AN ACTIVE EMS TRAUMA SCENE).
Austin police and firefighter/paramedics responded about 12:30 a.m. Thursday to a vehicle pedestrian incident after a suspected DUI driver in a police chase hit several pedestrians while being pursued in a police chase.
Two people riding a moped were hit and killed by the suspected DUI driver’s vehicle — a Toyota sedan. Good Samaritans and police immediately attempted CPR in the street, but the man and woman on the moped suffered fatal injuries.
The offending motorist faces two counts of capital murder and 23 counts of aggravated assault with a vehicle.
APD Crime Scene now near 9th & Red River where car went through barricades. RR to be closed most of day #sxsw pic.twitter.com/CA4abpEKMV
— Adam Bennett (@AdamBennettTV) March 13, 2014
Police report that the male offender (identity not released as of Thursday morning) pulled into a nearby gas station in a silver Toyota sedan after a poilce officer on a drunken-driving patrol assignment attempted to stop him. The suspected DUI driver evaded the police officer through a series of parked cars, then took off at high speed traveling the wrong way down a one-way street. He turned right on Red River Street, crashed through a barricade and narrowly missing a police officer who was posted at the barricade.
The Toyota hit some of victims in front of The Mohawk, a local club hosting Spin events during the SWSX five-day music conference in Austin. The driver continued driving his Toyota down the street where he struck and killed the two victims on the moped and then hit the cab before finally crashing.
Police used a Taser to subdue the man after the crash with the cab.
The crash scene involved a two-block section of downtown Austin, which was closed for an extended period during Accident Investigation Operations.
“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.”
Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo
.@kvue car drives through a crowd on red river lots of people injured pic.twitter.com/ISniyRiRbZ
— Tyler Wiethorn (@tweethorn) March 13, 2014
Here's the scene outside of Mohawk right now at #sxsw after a car ran through dozens of people. pic.twitter.com/XwdspxOf3o
— Colin Kerrigan (@colinkerrigan) March 13, 2014
The scene outside 10th & Red River is being treated as a crime scene. All #SXSW events in the area canceled. pic.twitter.com/xLbtrVFLjU
— Lauren Gardner (@laurgardner7) March 13, 2014
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families of last night's traffic fatality during SXSW…. http://t.co/AYKdaPcSdX
— Austin Fire Dept (@austinfiredept) March 13, 2014
WARNING VIDEO SHOWS A TRAUMA SCENE after a car hit over 20 people in a crowd at 9th and Red River during SXSW 2014.
