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Thread: 2 killed, 23 injured by drunk driver at SXSW

  1. #1
    Member ForeverAutumn's Avatar
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    2 killed, 23 injured by drunk driver at SXSW

    I know this isn't prog, but being a board of music and festival lovers I thought that some of you might want to know about this. Apparently this driver could be facing the death penalty for murder.

    Deadly car crash dampens mood at SXSW
    Two are dead and 23 were injured after an alleged drunk driver crashed through a barricade at the popular music festival.

    AUSTIN, TEX.—A shocked and sombre mood dampened the usual South by Southwest revelry on Thursday as festivalgoers attempted to process the news that an alleged drunk driver had killed two of their number in a mad flight from police early Thursday morning.

    The carnage began around 12:30 a.m. when a motorist tried to evade a police sobriety checkpoint by weaving through a Shell gas station and charging down a one-way street in the opposite direction. Police gave chase, but when the driver got to Red River St., one of the epicentres of the sprawling SXSW music fest, he smashed through a barricade closing the road to traffic and drove straight through the crowd for two blocks, mowing pedestrians down in his path and colliding with a moped, a bicycle and a taxi before attempting to flee the scene on foot. Witnesses told multiple local news outlets that they’d seen bodies flying in the air behind the Toyota.

    A foot officer eventually overtook the man “and was actually forced to Taser him to take him into custody,” a shaken Austin police chief Art Acevedo told reporters at an early-morning press conference. Not before, however, the two victims — Steven Craenmehr, 35, visiting Austin from the Netherlands who was struck dead while riding a bike, and an adult female from Texas who had been a passenger on the moped — had been pronounced dead at the scene, and 23 others were rushed to hospital, five of them with injuries considered critical. The driver of the moped was in stable condition, said Acevedo, while the rest were “walking wounded to moderate.”

    “As a result of this person’s reckless and willful disregard for the people of this city,” said Acevedo, Austin police will be charging the man responsible with two counts of capital murder and 23 counts of aggravated assault with a vehicle. They were withholding the name while they waited for the charges to be filed on Thursday morning, but the Austin American-Statesman newspaper identified the accused as 21-year-old Rashad Charjuan Owens of nearby army town Killeen.

    South by Southwest events scheduled at clubs on the affected strip of Red River, such as the Mohawk and Cheer Up Charlie’s, were being moved, rescheduled or cancelled outright on Thursday, although a much-hyped evening performance by pop queen Lady Gaga at Stubb’s a couple of blocks away was going ahead as planned.

    “Our thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by the tragic accident that took place last night here in Austin,” SXSW organizers said in a statement.
    South by Southwest consumes most of downtown Austin so most festivalgoers had no idea anything out of the ordinary had happened in Thursday’s early hours. Even sirens are inaudible over the din emanating from the dozens of clubs hosting live shows during the festival, after all. It was, thus, through text, Twitter and other social media that news and photographs of the horrific scene on Red River first spread like wildfire through the tens of thousands of SXSW attendees.

    On Thursday, the area where the deaths occurred was blockaded and thronging with TV reporters. SXSW’s managing director, Roland Swenson, was witnessed solemnly observing the scene.

    “As much as we would just like to go home and spend time absorbing the shock of this horrific event, we feel that our best use is to continue to operate today,” he told Reuters earlier.

    http://www.thestar.com/entertainment...e_than_20.html

  2. #2
    Member Yanks2014's Avatar
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    Just awful. So it's really worth risking lives of others to avoid losing you license and paying fines? A capital crime, maybe that's a stretch, noy sure how I feel about that, but I'd definitely charge this person for murder. His escape was more important than peoples lives. Sick. My heart goes out to the many victims.

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    Member Digital_Man's Avatar
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    I'm not necessarily against the death penalty but for drunk driving it seems just a tad harsh. Life in prison might be more fitting imo. It's not deliberate so I'd say it's involuntary manslaughter. Very tragic nonetheless and I do agree that he or she should spend time behind bars.
    Do not suffer through the game of chance that plays....always doors to lock away your dreams (To Be Over)

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    Member hippypants's Avatar
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    Yeah, it's sad, I saw it on the news today too. I also watched the hijacker in Colorado recently too that was driving beyond crazy--that was pretty scary. It's not just for drunk driving--it's for drunk driving and killing and injuring people, but I'll leave that up to the courts. I wonder if the person that was responsible had a previous record of dwi? At any rate, sad.

  5. #5
    Progstreaming-webmaster Sunhillow's Avatar
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    It's on the news here too. Apperently, Steve was a well-known figure here in the indie music business. Tragic indeed.

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    Member Plasmatopia's Avatar
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    Plus it makes you wonder about the constitutionality of checkpoints.
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  7. #7
    This is interesting point of the case "police gave chase". Maybe I am mistaken but I thought that some states have the police engagement rules not to give the chase when the driver behaviour appears to be irrational...e.g. charging down a one-way street in the opposite direction. It seems that Texas is not one of those states.

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    facetious maximus Yves's Avatar
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    I think trying to give him the death penalty would make it too easy to dismiss the case, even in Texas. You'd have to prove premeditated intent to kill. This guy should go away for a VERY long time though. Make his case a precedent for other drunk driving assholes out there.
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    So, one woman who died was friends of a friend, who worked at his restaurant (the Heartland Cafe) in Chicago with her husband. They were apparently sitting on their motorcycle at the time. The husband remains in critical condition.

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    Member Dave the Brave's Avatar
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    Rashad Charjuan Owens, 21, of Killeen, Texas, was arrested Thursday and charged with two counts of capital murder and multiple counts of aggravated assault with a motor vehicle. Formal charges are still pending, Austin Police Department said in a statement.

    Austin Chief of Police Art Acevedo said that Owens' actions were "intentional." Austin news station KVUE reported that the Toyota Owens was driving at the time of the incident was stolen, with a report on MySanAntonio claiming a Fort Hood soldier reported the car stolen to Killeen Police Department at 11 a.m. on Thursday.

    Records show that Owens had been convicted numerous times in recent years, including offenses for minor under the influence and criminal trespass. In 2010, Owens was arrested by the Killeen school district Police Department for criminal trespass. While living in Alaska in 2011, Owens was arrested for driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident. He pleaded guilty to the DUI charge, but prosecutors dismissed the fleeing offense.

    Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/ne...#ixzz2vwx7UTG7
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    Studmuffin Scott Bails's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yves View Post
    I think trying to give him the death penalty would make it too easy to dismiss the case, even in Texas. You'd have to prove premeditated intent to kill. This guy should go away for a VERY long time though. Make his case a precedent for other drunk driving assholes out there.
    Pretty much how I feel, too.

    Punishment for drunk driving isn't harsh enough, IMO, and this moron should get whatever is a 1/2 step from the death penalty.
    Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally

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    facetious maximus Yves's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave the Brave View Post

    Austin Chief of Police Art Acevedo said that Owens' actions were "intentional."
    Conjecture. The Chief of police cannot KNOW this unless this guy left a note somewhere detailing his intent. I applaud the "let's throw the book at him" attitude, but make sure there isn't a loophole somewhere that this guy can slip through. I think this guy will get a double manslaughter charge at best; but I'm from Canada, the land of "let's slap him on the wrists and tell him to be a good boy in future" laws so what do I know...
    "Corn Flakes pissed in. You ranted. Mission accomplished. Thread closed."

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  13. #13
    Irritated Lawn Guy Klonk's Avatar
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    Before this goes to court I think he should be encased in rubber tires...however many it takes to reach his neck. He should then be placed on a street where every family member effected by this douche gets the chance to hit him once with their cars.
    "Who would have thought a whale would be so heavy?" - Moe Sizlak

  14. #14
    Member Plasmatopia's Avatar
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    His actions were intentional. He was intentionally trying to escape, mostly likely not intending to kill anyone. Not that they shouldn't throw the book at him.
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    Member hippypants's Avatar
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    I'm not a lawyer, but this might apply, so that it doesn't have to be premeditated: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder Reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life (sometimes described as an "abandoned and malignant heart"), orUnder state of mind (iii), an "abandoned and malignant heart", the killing must result from defendant's conduct involving a reckless indifference to human life and a conscious disregard of an unreasonable risk of death or serious bodily injury. An example of this is a 2007 law in California where an individual could be convicted of third-degree murder if he or she kills another person while operating a motor vehicle while being under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or controlled substances.

  16. #16
    facetious maximus Yves's Avatar
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    But is it punishable by death in your state?
    "Corn Flakes pissed in. You ranted. Mission accomplished. Thread closed."

    -Cozy 3:16-

  17. #17
    Member Plasmatopia's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yves View Post
    But is it punishable by death in your state?
    If it's possible anywhere it would be a toss up between Texas or China as to which is more likely to execute.
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  18. #18
    Member ForeverAutumn's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yves View Post
    But is it punishable by death in your state?
    If they can make the Capital Murder charge stick it probably is. My suspicion is that they'll charge the guy with capital murder so that the lawyers can use it to deal down to a lower degree of murder or manslaughter charges. It's hard to have leverage to negotiate if you're starting with a manslaughter charge.

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    He won't fry for this I'm sure.

    Intentional or not - he was wasted and not of right mind. I am sure some bigger cities (Houston, Dallas) have "give chase" policies in place . . . not sure about Austin though.

    I stopped going to SXSW in 1998 - it turned into a hipster tech fest. Now it's a huge world wide phenom with late-night hosts on-site, movie stars, tech giants, etc - - - and the music has (sadly) taken a back burner to such superficiality (if you ask me). Back then (1993-1995) we had a booth on the trade show floor - I'd come home with over 400 CD's of new music from bands all around the globe.....just my two cents mind you - but things have changed.

    Austin is a very cool town though - especially Lake Travis and the CO river NW of town - gorgeous.

  20. #20
    Ehh, the situation is totally horrible. Who wants to go to a show, have fun, hang with friends, watch some music and people, and get killed? This guy is an ass hat, drunk, blasting through barricades and driving into and through a crowd of people.
    And if the record of his DUI/past history with chemical amusement aid stated above in post #10 is true, he deserves life at the very least. He is and has been a menace to society. And its a gross injustice this guy was allowed to wander around free long enough to kill and maim innocent bystanders.

  21. #21
    Studmuffin Scott Bails's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ForeverAutumn View Post
    My suspicion is that they'll charge the guy with capital murder so that the lawyers can use it to deal down to a lower degree of murder or manslaughter charges.
    No doubt.
    Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally

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    Member Yanks2014's Avatar
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    While I'm very pro-death penalty, I'm still not sure that applies to this case. The guy didn't care a bit about who got hurt, but I don't think he was TRYING to kill anyone. I do think there is a difference. And I'd much rather him get life in prison than to win on a technicality because of the prosecutors overreaching. Just sickening when people do horrible things like this. Just the most selfish behavior possible. Seems he's had several incidents with driving under the influence. I'll even give hm the benefit of the doubt, maybe he has tried to get help, and it hasn't worked. So you know what, if he can't control himself, he should give up having a car. Nope, his needs are more impotant than anyone elses. Sickening.

  23. #23
    Member ForeverAutumn's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yanks2014 View Post
    if he can't control himself, he should give up having a car. Nope, his needs are more impotant than anyone elses. Sickening.
    If you read post #10, it says the car he was driving was stolen. In my opinion that makes this even worse. It's not like he got drunk and made a bad judgement call to get into his own car and drive home, and then the drive home went awry. But he actually went through the trouble of stealing a car so he could drive while drunk.

    I'm glad he was caught, and I hope he gets what he deserves.

  24. #24
    Member -=RTFR666=-'s Avatar
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    Perhaps there is a 'depraved indifference to human life' clause that can be invoked to either put this turd down using the death penalty or to put him away for life...either alternative seems appropriate given the incident and the suspect's criminal history.

    Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV...YMMV...etc. etc.
    -=Will you stand by me against the cold night, or are you afraid of the ice?=-

  25. #25
    facetious maximus Yves's Avatar
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    Do they not have a law in Texas (or other states) where convicted repeat DUI offenders need to blow into an ignition breathalyzer interlock and if they are over the limit, they can't start the car? We have that shit here...
    "Corn Flakes pissed in. You ranted. Mission accomplished. Thread closed."

    -Cozy 3:16-

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