SXSW Horror: Bodies Flew, Two Dead, 23 Injured

SXSW revelers witnessed a horrific scene of bodies and debris flying into the air early Thursday that left two dead and 23 injured when a car going at a high speed ran through a barricade and accelerated into a crowd waiting to hear rap music at the Mohawk night club.

Ally Hulton, 28, from Los Angeles, was on the balcony of her friend’s apartment on Red River around 12:30 A.M. when she saw a car drive down the street “at full speed” before hitting someone. It then appeared to accelerate into a crowd of people, she said.

“About 10 bodies went flying,” Hulton said.

Scott Jakota, a musician from Indiana in town to play SXSW, said he was one of the first people hit. The driver “gunned” the car, “and I was thrown up in the sky,” he said, appearing to have a leg injury and being helped by his friends.

“I saw bodies fly into the air, and there was blood and it was unbelievable,” said Jayda Luna, 21, a junior at Texas State. “It was the most horrific thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life.”

“I don’t know how anyone didn’t hear it,” he said. “We were right there and all of a sudden, boom, a car hit several people. It was going so fast.” 

Speaking to reporters on Red River Street, still littered with shoes, clothing and other debris from the incident, Police Chief Art Acevedo  vowed the man would face capital murder charges in the deaths of the two scooter riders and 23 counts of aggravated assault with a vehicle.

The driver tried to evade being stopped for drunk driving, hurtled past a barricade on Red River Street, and plowed through dozens of South by Southwest revelers, killing two and injuring 23 early Thursday morning, according to police.

The street, home to a stretch of popular clubs hosting South by Southwest music showcases, had been closed to motorists for the event. It was crowded with music fans waiting to get into the Mohawk nightclub.

The man, driving a small Toyota car, evaded a stop sign around 12:30 A.M., then went the wrong way down Ninth Street, turned onto Red River, and drove over twoo blocks, striking numerous pedestrians before hitting a man and woman on a scooter on 11th Street, killing both.

The driver then struck a taxi, injuring two, crashed into a parked van and then attempted to flee on foot before stunned with a Taser gun and detained by the police officer who originally tried to pull him over at the gas station on the frontage road of Interstate 35.

Transmission Events, which owns the Mohawk, said on Twitter: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims and injured from tonight’s tragedy. Please check and make sure everyone you know is home safe tonight.”

Source: The Statesman, LA Times