At least two people have died and 23 are injured, five of them in critical condition, following a hit and run accident in which a car plowed through a barricade and through a throng of people at South by Southwest. The accident happened near the Mohawk on Red River Road following ††† (Crosses) show at the House of Vans, as people lined the streets to get into the Tyler the Creator show adjacent to the Mohawk. According to eyewitnesses, the car traveled at a high rate of speed through a makeshift barrier, hitting people and throwing some into the air. Amateur video shows the injured lining a whole block as police perform CPR on one victim. A report says the two people killed were on a moped.
Austin police chief Art Acevedo said the incident began just after midnight when police attempted to pull over a vehicle at the Shell gas station near I35, and the car cut through the gas station lot and drove the wrong way down 9th street. After traveling two blocks and striking a moped and a taxi, the car struck a van on the corner of 11th and Red River. The driver attempted to flee before being tazed by police. He’ll be charged with two counts of capital murder. This is obviously a breaking story, and we’ll continue to update you as we learn more.
[UPDATED] Information is starting to trickle out about those involved in last night’s drunk driving incident in which two people were killed and 23 were injured. Rashad Charjuan Owens of Killeen, has been named as the suspect in the accident. The 22 year-old attempted to avoid a DUI checkpoint while driving a car that was reported stolen from Fort Hood. Owens was convicted of a DUI in November of 2011 in Fairbanks, AK. One of those killed has been identified as Steven Crenmehr, 35, from the Netherlands. He was a musician, and worked for music agency MassiveMusic, who have cancelled their event at SXSW tonight.
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