A drunk driver flees from police into a crowd of concertgoers attending annual SXSW Festival in Austin, TX.
Late Thursday evening, police attempted to pull over a Toyota sedan that took off, going the wrong way on a one-way street. The car struck the crowd outside Mohawk Nightclub, along with several police barriers. More than 20 were taken to the hospital, two were killed, and still several others are in critical condition. The car chase ended with local police stunning the offender with a Taser and bringing him into custody. The culprit, Rashad Owens, was later charged with two counts of capital murder by terroristic threat, and multiple accounts of aggravated assault with a motor vehicle.
SXSW Festival hosts more than 15k people each year
In a statement from the festival organization, they made it clear they were deeply saddened by what had happened, but intended to continue. It marked the first time in the 27 years of the festival that a fatal accident like this has occurred. The normally peaceful festival has become a must for many citizens of Austin and surrounding counties. Moving forward from this tragic event, SXSW will continue on, growing even more in years to come.
BREAKING NEWS UPDATE – 3/18 – When we originally covered this story, there were several people who had been run over by a mad driver during SXSW. Out of the nearly 30 people who got struck, three of those remained in critical condition. We have some updates for you on this: those three people in critical condition all passed away. The first two died shortly after the incident and the last of the three passed away yesterday. Very unfortunate news. The good news, however, is that Vans have donated the proceeds from the last day of their pop up store at SXSW to help with this tragedy.
The driver, Rashad Owens, will now be appealing in front of a grand jury before they confirm any more charges against him. His bail is set at $3 million. To help out with with the cause, you can donate here if you would like.
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