Two people were killed and 23 more were injured after a car smashed through SXSW festival barricades in Austin last night and struck a crowd of pedestrians, police have said in a statement.
The 2 people who were killed were apparently on a moped that was struck by the crashing vehicle, while 5 others have been taken into hospital and are said to be in a critical condition.
The man who was driving the car at the time of the impact attempted to flee the scene on foot afterwards but was apprehended by a police officer who tazed him before making the arrest.
The man, who was allegedly intoxicated, drove the wrong way down a one way street, crashed through the barricade and struck multiple pedestrians, a taxi and the moped before crashing into a van.
Warning: The below involves somewhat unsettling content
Austin Chief of Police Art Acevedo said at the scene, “There’s one person responsible and that’s that person who got behind that wheel and decided to drink and drive … and then when stopped by police, cared more about himself than these people out here,” he said. “He needs to go to jail, and hopefully for a long time.”
Source: Variety