Driver Killed Trying To Exit Driveway In East Austin

AUSTIN, TX — The man killed Saturday after police say he was hit by a car while exiting his driveway in East Austin has been identified.

According to a preliminary police investigation, a 2005 red Honda Accord was exiting a private driveway along the 7800 block of FM 969 on Saturday as the driver attempted to turn westbound onto FM 969. Meanwhile, police added, a 2020 silver Chevrolet Equinox was traveling eastbound on the outside lane of FM 969 before striking the drivers' side of the exiting vehicle.

The driver of the car that was hit, Calvin Charles Bench, 36, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police. The driver of the other vehicle, Anthony Michael DeLeon, 28, was charged with DWI, police said. However, police said alcoholic consumption did not factor into the crash: "Although he was arrested for DWI, his intoxication was not a contributing factor in the crash," police wrote in a press advisory.

The incident marked Austin’s 20th fatal traffic crash of 2020, police noted, resulting in 21 fatalities this year. At this time in 2019, officials added, there were nine traffic fatalities.