Driver Kills Two At SXSW

A man and woman on a moped were killed early Thursday when a suspected drunken driver fleeing police crashed through barricades at the South By Southwest festival in Austin and slammed into a crowd of festivalgoers, police said.

Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo said the motorist also plowed into people gathered in front of an emptying nightclub around 12:30 a.m., injuring 23 people, five critically. He eventually crashed and tried to make a getaway on foot. A police officer shocked him with a stun gun and took him into custody, Acevedo said at a news conference.

The driver, whose name was not released, faces two counts of capital murder and 23 counts of aggravated assault with a vehicle.

The annual music, film and interactive conference draws tens of thousands to Austin each year, and the toll could have been much higher. The street had been packed with revelers just minutes earlier, but officials had cleared the area because it is a fire lane.

Daily Pulse