Austin crash: 5 dead in 17-car pileup; alleged drunken 18-wheeler driver arrested
Alleged drunk driver arrested for deadly pile-up
Five people were killed, including an infant and toddler, in a massive 17-car pileup on Interstate 35 in Austin. The 37-year-old man charged in the horrific accident has North Texas ties.
AUSTIN, Texas - Five people were killed, including an infant and toddler, in a massive 17-car pileup on Interstate 35 in Austin.
The 37-year-old man charged in the horrific accident has North Texas ties.
Austin Crash
What we know:
The deadly crash happened around 11:30 p.m. on Thursday in the southbound lanes of I-35 in the northern part of the city.
Survivors and witnesses report traffic had come to a stop when an 18-wheeler barreled into vehicles, pushing cars and SUVs into each other.
In total, 17 vehicles were involved.
Five people died, including an infant and a toddler. 11 others were hurt, including some who were pinned in their vehicles.
Two of the injured victims have very critical injuries.
What we don't know:
The names of the victims have not yet been released.
There was also an unknown stranger who is getting credit for helping some of the injured victims.
"There was a gentleman. We don’t have his name but was reported to be extremely helpful. As you can imagine, it was a very chaotic scene. Our first arriving units only had eight people on scene until the rest of the support got here. As you can imagine with our total of 17 patients, with everything, with the chaos that we had here, the bystander support at the initial onset of the call was very helpful," said Austin Assistant Fire Chief Thayer Smith.
Solomun Waldekeal-Araya charged with intoxication manslaughter
What we know:
Austin police arrested Solomun Waldekeal-Araya, the driver of the 18-wheeler who allegedly caused the crash.
He’s now charged with five counts of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault.
The 37-year-old was allegedly intoxicated behind the wheel of the big rig.
Waldekeal-Araya is now being held in the Travis County jail.
Suspect’s North Texas ties
Local perspective:
Waldekeal-Araya was supposed to be in municipal court next week in Wilmer, just south of Dallas on Interstate 45, for speeding. Records show he was going 63 mph in a 35-mph zone.
He also has a Dallas address on file, although it's not yet clear if that address is current.
The Source: The information in this story comes from the Austin Police Department and Dallas County court records.