Police Seek Witness To Fatal North Austin Hit-And-Run

NORTH AUSTIN, TX — Police seek help from the public in helping to locate a witness to a fatal hit-and-run crash involving a pedestrian that occurred along Interstate 35 last month.

In a press advisory, police said they believe a man was struck by an 18-wheeler along I-35 on March 15, just north of East Riverside Drive near Lady Bird Lake. Emergency crews responding to the scene at around 8:45 p.m. found the man dead at the scene in the middle lane of the highway exhibiting a level of trauma consistent to being struck by a vehicle, police said.

Police said the big rig that hit the pedestrian had the word "Hunt" emblazoned on its side in black letters within and orange rectangular background. The driver of the 18-wheeler failed to stop after the unidentified pedestrian was hit.

A witness later told police another, seemingly panicked man ran to the middle the highway toward the victim in the immediate aftermath of the collision. The man approached another witness at the scene asking to use her cell phone, telling the woman he was a native of Guatemala.

Police now seek this man, stressing he is not in any sort of trouble and police only seek information related to the crash victim who died. "He is not in trouble, but we do need to speak with him in order to identify the deceased victim," police said.

Although the residency of the witness is unknown, the police disclaimer noting he's not in any trouble is likely prompted by a crackdown on immigrants that has seen unprecedented raids by Immigration Customs & Enforcement (ICE) officials in Austin and the surrounding areas in recent months. The crackdown initiative is led by Gov. Greg Abbott, who championed passage of Senate Bill 4 — widely considered to be the nation's most draconian law meant to eradicate undocumented immigrants and ban so-called "sanctuary cities" that seemingly welcome them into the fold.

Under SB 4, police are given greater leeway to ask about residents' citizenship status even during the most benign of traffic stops. The law also enables the arrest and even jailing of law enforcement officials deemed to be lax in cooperating with ICE=requested "detainer requests" that are detentions of ensnared undocumented immigrants of at least 48 hours demanded of local law enforcement to allow federal immigration agents plenty of time to fetch the migrants and process them for deportation.

Law enforcement officials who preferred a more nuanced approach to local immigration law enforcement — Austin Police Department Interim Police Chief Brian Manley and Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandezamong them — have aired concerns the current political climate might prevent the reporting of crimes to police among immigrants for fear of being detained themselves once their documentation status is discovered.

Hence the likely need for the "he-is-not-in-trouble" disclaimer by police that is rarely if ever seen in such press advisories asking for the public's help in solving a crime. Prior to the passage of SB4, numerous law enforcement officials warned about the likely chilling and corrosive effect the draconian measure might have in building police trust among certain communities. In their press advisory, police infer the victim, too, is of Guatemalan descent, as they seek to speak to the witness for help in identifying the deceased.

Anyone else with information is urged to call police at (512) 974-8544.

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