Police Confirm Traffic Fatality East of Airport

Austin Police confirmed a traffic fatality resulted from a Thursday morning traffic accident east of the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Highway 71.

A spontaneously staged press conference was staged at a nearby tire shop, during which a police spokesman confirmed the fatality.

The crash, which took place during rush-hour traffic shortly after 7 a.m., prompted the closure of one eastbound lane, he said.

The traffic fatality is the second in two days following one Wednesday on Tillery Street. Wednesday’s traffic fatality claimed the life a woman believed to be in her 20s.

This latest traffic fatality also brings to 86 the number of traffic crashes resulting in fatalities in Austin—a grim record that has been consistently broken since September. Thursday’s latest traffic death represents the 94th such fatality this year.

By comparison, there were 65 traffic deaths at this point in time last year.