North Texas native killed in hit-and-run crash near SXSW in Austin

AUSTIN, Texas - A North Texas native is dead after being struck by a hit-and-run driver during the South by Southwest Festival in Austin.

Police made an arrest in the case Wednesday afternoon.

Fort Worth native Cody Shelton had a bright future ahead of him.

The 26-year-old Castleberry High School graduate moved to Austin in 2016 to pursue his dream of being a chef. His family said he was thriving.

"The first thing he ever made was a rose out of strawberry, and he brought it to me. It had all these fancy swirls of chocolate on it," Shelton’s mother, Ladonna Scallion Smith, said.

But early Tuesday morning, Shelton’s life was cut short when police say he was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver while crossing at an intersection in Downtown Austin.

Another man was also hit and critically injured. Witnesses tried to help.

"Two dudes and they popped straight up in the air. One shoe flew that way, the other show flew way down here," James Blaine said. "It was pretty chaotic, but people were just mostly in shock."

As the investigation progressed, detectives identified the suspected driver as 23-year-old Tyrone Thompson. Investigators say he was involved in another crash later Tuesday and was arrested on unrelated charges.

"He's going to be buried, that's what we want. We just want to be able to bring him home," said Smith, who still lives in North Texas.

She said she got a call from one of Shelton’s friends telling her he got hit by a car. It was a terrible case of déjà vu.

Smith says Shelton was struck by a car after graduating from high school.

"We almost thought we lost him the first time, because he was in the ICU for about two weeks after that accident, and this time he didn't make it," she said.

In a social media post, Ben Klemens, another witness, said Thompson "was going full speed" and that he "saw no brake lights." 

"He still doesn't seem real at all. I'm just numb, I'm here," Smith said. "That's somebody's life and now we don't have him here anymore."

Thompson is charged with crash involving death.

Shelton’s mother wants justice for her son.

"I don't ever get to hear my baby tell me he loves me. I won't ever get to hold me baby again," she said.

Austin police say they have surveillance video of the car but have not released any images just yet.

Shelton’s family is working to get his body brought back to North Texas for burial.