As the result of a deadly car accident at SXSW in Austin, Texas has injured 23 people and claimed the lives of two people.
A vehicle ploughed through a crowd of people outside live music venue the Mohawk on Red River road at around 12:30am Thursday morning, according to the Austin Police Department as Billboard reports.
A man and a woman were killed after the suspected drunk driver collided through the gathered crowd in an attempt to evade a pursuing police officer, his vehicle striking multiple pedestrians outside the club that was emptying from a crowd attending an SXSW showcase hosted by House of Vans. According to Triple J, there are no Australians among the injured or deceased.
In a press conference held Friday morning, SXSW Managing Director Roland Swenson said that “as much as we want to go home and absorb the shock of this event,” they plan to continue with SXSW events in the wake of the tragedy.
Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo was also on hand at the media junket, along with Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell, and said that the vehicular suspect had been booked and charged with two counts of capital murder and 23 counts of aggravated assault with a vehicle.
According to Austin American-Statesman, the suspect that has been charged is 21-year-old Rashad Charjuan Owens of Killeen, Texas who has an active warrant out for his arrest in Alaska where he has been arrested several times for misdeameanors “including offenses for minor under the influence and criminal trespsass.”
One of the two deceased was a a Netherlands man who was riding a bicycle that was struck by the fleeing vehicle, and the other is a local Austin woman who was riding a moped. She was riding alongside with another man who is currently in a critical condition.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by the tragic accident that took place last night here in Austin,” reads a statement from SXSW. “We will be making schedule and venue changes for programming in the surrounding area of last night’s events. All other programming will continue as previously scheduled.”
In his own personal statement, Mr Swenson added: “To avoid confusion we plan to carry on with our scheduled daytime events at the Austin Convention Center in order to serve our tens of thousands of participants during this tragic time.” He went on:
Despite all of our preparations for dealing with a major incident during SXSW, nothing could really prepare us for how this feels. As much as we would like to just go home and spend time absorbing the shock of this horrific event, we feel our best use is to continue to operate today.
One of the fatalities was a SXSW registrant, a gentleman from the Netherlands. Our thoughts and prayers are with the injured and with the families of the fatalities.
At the time of the incident, The Mohawk Club was hosting a House of Vans showcase featuring Tyler, The Creator, X, The Black Angels, †††, and more – according to Pitchfork. Cheer Up Charlie’s, the venue next door, was hosting the Jansport Bonfire Sessions featured Kurt Vile, Cloud Nothings, Gardens & Villa, and Natural Child. Tonight’s scheduled Stereogum SXSW party will not take place at Mohawk; a list of cancelled or relocated SXSW events can be found here.
Footage captured at the scene at Red River has surfaced online, taken moments after the accident and featuring bystanders describing the speed and graphic nature of the crash. Please be warned, the following video contains graphic imagery and may distress some viewers.
(Image: Jay Janner. Source: AP Photo/Austin American-Statesman/)
