Rashad Owens ran down 26-year-old Sandy Thuy Le, described by a family member as “brilliant” and a “live life to the fullest” sort of person, on Thursday as he tried to flee police. Ms. Le, a Vietnamese-American whose family has seen more than its share of hardship and tragedy, having lost their home to Hurricane Katrina, was the third person to die from the horrific crash at the SXSW festival.
The Houston wrongful death attorneys at Denena Points, PC sadly note that Owens injured at least 21 others. The two most critically injured victims sustained life threatening head injuries. The two victims who died at the scene were identified as 35-year-old Steven Craenmehr from The Netherlands and 27-year-old Jamie West from Austin. Our hearts and prayers are with the family and friends of all of the victims and with those injured victims still struggling to recover after the devastating wreck.
Police documents indicate that Owens initially made an illegal turn and almost ran into a patrol car, at which time police initiated a traffic stop. Then Owens took off, at one point ramming through a police barricade and driving the wrong way down a one-way street. Some witnesses reportedly said they heard Owens revving up his engine before accelerating through the SXSW festival crowd, indicating he might have run down the victims deliberately or without any regard whatsoever for their lives and safety. Police said he also never applied his brakes.
Rashad Owens, whose breathalyzer test showed .114, over the legal limit, apparently fled the police due to outstanding warrants for his arrest and perhaps to avoid being charged with DWI as well. He has since been charged with capital murder and aggravated assault with a motor vehicle and is being held on $3 million bond. Our Houston wrongful death attorneys note that Owens’ blood toxicology report is still pending. (Chris Tomlinson, Associated Press by way of the Houston Chronicle, 3/17/14; and Andra Litton, KTSM News Austin, 3/14/14) Click the link to read more about the deadly driving rampage at SXSW.