What was supposed to be a fun environment at South by South West (SXSW), the music, film, and interactive conference and festival in Austin, Texas, had a tragic turn of events. Two people died and 23 others were injured early Thursday after a driver being pursued by police smashed into a crowd celebrating at SXSW.
Police attempted to stop the suspect for a traffic violation, but he fled the wrong way down a one-way street at high speed. Senior police officer Jermaine Kilgore said the suspect drove through temporary barricades set up for the festival at 9th and Red River streets, going the wrong way on 9th Street, and drove into the crowd, striking several pedestrians and colliding with a moped and a taxi.
Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo said he eventually crashed and tried to make a getaway on foot. He was eventually tased and taken into custody. The driver is suspected to have been drunk. Two fatalities were confirmed at the scene, a man and a woman. From the 23 others that were injured, five were in critical condition and all were taken to various hospitals.
Before the incident, which occurred about 12:30 a.m. Central time, the crowd was gathered in front of The Mohawk, a concert venue hosting musician Tyler, The Creator to coincide with the SXSW festival.
Yvette Ruiz, a witness, told The Washington Post she was attending the festival when she and her boyfriend saw the car break through the barricade. “I could hear the rev of the engine and people screaming,” she said. “I turned around to see people falling off the hood of the car…. There was a lot of blood everywhere. People on the street. People on the sidewalk. It was barricaded. It was supposed to be safe.”
"It looked like something out of a movie," said Russ Barone, who was at the festival. "A few people lying on the street ... with their friends around them trying to get them up, trying to get them back to life. Hopefully, they are." Pablo Vazquez was also at there. "The car barely missed me ... I was less than a foot away," he told CNN. "I saw some folks die. It kept moving forward, swerving to hit victims and and even ramming into a taxi at one point,” he said.
The driver, whose name was not released, faces two counts of capital murder and 23 counts of aggravated assault with a vehicle.
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