Second Pedestrian In 2 Days Struck, Killed In Austin

SOUTH AUSTIN, TX — A pedestrian was struck and killed early Saturday in South Austin — the second person to die in as many days in a city experiencing bolstered traffic congestion by virtue of SXSW.

In the most recent incident, a pedestrian was struck and killed at around 6:22 a.m. on Saturday along the 5300 block of South Interstate 35. Upon their arrival, medics with the Austin-Travis County EMS found a man in his 20s dead at the scene.

All lanes of southbound I-35 near East Stassney Lane were closed to traffic for some time after the fatal traffic accident to accommodate a police investigation. The artery later was re-opened to traffic after the closures created significant delays.

It's unclear if the driver was cited in the Saturday morning collision.

It was the second pedestrian fatality in Austin since Thursday, when a man in his 30s was struck and killed along Interstate 35 at Riverside Drive just before 9 p.m. on Thursday. Police are still looking for the driver in that incident who fled the scene after hitting the pedestrian.

The investigation into that incident is frustrated given the lack of a vehicle description. Police urge anyone with information to call them at (512) 974-5489.

#ATXTraffic Fatality: Multiple #ATCEMS @Austin_Police & @AustinFireInfo assets on-scene of a reported Auto v Pedestrian incident at ~20 block of N IH 35 NB (20:48); #ATCEMSMedics have obtained 1 Deceased On Scene pronouncement of approximated 30's Male Expect closures in the area
— ATCEMS (@ATCEMS) March" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/ATCEMS/sta... 16, 2018

It's been a busy two weeks for EMS medics since this year's SXSW kicked off on March 9. They keep a running tally of emergencies to which they're dispatched: On the fourth day of the festival, medics responded to 46 incidents involving 27 patients, officials said. Of those, 19 were transported to the hospital during the 12-hour reporting period between 3 p.m. and 3 a.m. The day before, medics were dispatched to 18 incidents involving 11 patients — four of whom were rushed to the hospital — during the same 12-hour prior period.

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