Car Plows Into Crowd Near Vans’ SXSW Venue

by The Editors on March 13, 2014

14austin-TJH3-superJumboLast night an possibly drunk driver fleeing police crashed his car into a crowd of people in Austin, Texas directly in front of The Mohawk, home this week to the SXSW House of Vans At The Mohawk. It was just after 12:30 AM (March 13, 2014) and fans were cued up outside for a Tyler, The Creator live show.

Two people where killed and 23 people were injured, according to a story in the New York Times.

The Austin police chief, Art Acevedo, told reporters that officers on the lookout for drunken drivers had tried to pull the motorist over about 12:30 a.m. at a service station near the clubs and other venues that were hosting events related to the annual cultural and technology festival. . . But the driver suddenly sped off, Chief Acevedo said, heading the wrong way down Ninth Street, a one-way street in downtown Austin, before turning onto Red River Street, where he rammed through a police barricade and struck several vehicles, including a moped and a taxi, in addition to hitting the pedestrians. A police officer stationed at the barricade narrowly avoided injury.

Stance’s Erica Yary was nearby when the accident happened. “Witnessed the worst thing I’ve ever seen tonight,” Yary said in an Instagram post. “If you pray, please pray for the deceased and the families of those injured and killed tonight. I don’t why this person plowed through dozens of people, but they destroyed many lives tonight. I’m so lucky my coworkers/friends and I were at a safe distance.”

The as-yet-unnamed driver of the car attempted to flee on foot but was caught and tasered. According to the Times, the driver will likely be charged with “capital murder charges.”

According to sources no Vans employees were injured in the accident, but our thoughts are with those injured and the family and friends of the two people who were killed.

[Link: New York Times]

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