Man Charged After Fatal Northwest Austin Crash

AUSTIN, TX — A man has been charged with intoxication manslaughter in connection with a crash in northwest Austin on Thursday that left a woman dead, police said.

The May 21 traffic wreck happened around 10:40 p.m. at Pond Springs Road and U.S. 183 North. A preliminary police investigation shows that a gray, 2010 Mazda M3i was going north on the U.S. 183 service road when it struck the back of a white, 2014 GMC truck that was sitting at a red light at Ponds Springs Road. The impact pushed the truck into the intersection while the Mazda continued northbound before driving onto a sidewalk, where it struck a woman, police said.

The Mazda stopped when it crashed into a nearby building, police said. The driver of the truck was transported to a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries while the woman was transported to St. David's Round Rock Medical Center, police said, where she died.

The driver of the Mazda, 27-year-old Gary Joseph Brauneis, was charged with DWI intoxication manslaughter and booked into Williamson County Jail, police said. The woman was idenfitied as Ginger Mattox. She was 30 years old — and would have turned 31 on June 17, according to information provided by police.

Anyone with information regarding this case should call APD’s Vehicular Homicide Unit Detectives at (512) 974-8544. Tips also can be submitted by downloading APD’s mobile app, Austin PD, for free on iPhone and Android.

The incident marked Austin’s 34th fatal traffic crash of 2020, police said, resulting in 36 fatalities this year. At this time in 2019, police added, there were 33 traffic fatalities.