The original post of this story contained a typo in the headline, relating that 5 persons were killed. It is two persons who were killed in this tragic accident. The headline has been corrected to reflect those facts. Thank you. Eds.
[Update 9: 4:35 am Friday, Pacific] At about 12:30 am Thursday, a stolen car traveling at a high rate of speed killed two people and injured dozens in a crowd of pedestrians at the South By Southwest (SxSW) festival.
The driver of the car, Rashad Charjuan Owens, 21, is a rapper with six children, according to the Washington Post.
Just before noon in Texas, the Austin Statesman reported the identity of the suspect, Rashad Charjuan Owens, 21, of Killeen, TX. KWTX reported that the car had been stolen Wednesday night.
A Dutch man was killed when the driver hit his bicycle. An Austin woman was killed when the driver hit her moped or light motorcycle; her husband was taken to the hospital in critical condition. Early reports were that the two people killed were riding a moped. The Austin Statesman now reports that one of the people killed was on a scooter and one was on a bicycle.
Although the Austin Police tweeted that 21 were injured, many news reports indicated that 23 were injured. At a press conference, Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo said the driver would be charged with two charges of capital murder and 23 counts of aggravated assault.
The driver raced the wrong way on Ninth Street (a one-way) before turning onto Red River and crashing through the barricade. He was evading a DWI task force officer.
Acevedo said police will reassess procedures used to block off streets during special events, as is common after a tragedy, “but when somebody acts intentionally, it’s very difficult to stop.”
A person “willing to drive down a street, mowing people down, will crash through or go around a barricade,” he said. “This is an individual that showed no regard for the human beings he plowed through … to get away.”
Lt. Brian Moon told Rolling Stone that this is the first time a vehicle has struck pedestrians at a SxSW event. The crowds were on line for a House of Vans show at The Mohawk.
Scene outside of Mohawk Bar at #sxsw after car ran through crowd. Reports 13 injured & 2 dead. pic.twitter.com/Bq8KXXkROj via @colinkerrigan
— Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) March 13, 2014
According to the New York Times, the accident scene remained closed Thursday morning. The festival ends on Sunday.
According to USA Today, “[Austin Police Chief Art] Acevedo said the driver hit a man and a woman on a moped, a taxi and a van before stopping the vehicle and fleeing on foot.”
Known for gnawing at complex questions like a terrier with a bone. Digital evangelist, writer, teacher. Transplanted Southerner; teach newbies to ride motorcycles. @kegill (Twitter and Mastodon.social); wiredpen.com