Car crash at SXSW kills 2; festival organizers vow to carry on

AUSTIN, Texas - Two people were killed and 23 hospitalized early Thursday after a car crashed through temporary barricades into a crowd of pedestrians at the South by Southwest Music festival.

The mood was dark at the Austin Convention Center, headquarters of the festival, later Thursday. SXSW managing director Roland Swenson issued a statement saying "the SXSW staff is stunned and deeply moved by the events of last night." He said the festival planned "to carry on with our scheduled daytime events" and added, "We are contacting all of the venues to find out if they have made any decisions about our operations that impact our visitors."

One of the two killed was a Dutch citizen and festival registrant who was riding a bicycle. The other was an Austin woman riding a moped with a man. He is one of two people still hospitalized in critical condition; eight remain in the hospital in all.

The accident happened around 12:30 a.m. Thursday outside the Mohawk, a club at 10th and Red River Streets, where the veteran punk band X was playing.

The car had been stopped by police checking for drunk drivers at a nearby gas station. The driver then weaved through traffic to avoid police and sped the wrong way down a one-way street, Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo said.

The driver was subdued with a stun gun and taken into custody. He was identified as Rashad Owens, 21, of Killeen. The car had been stolen there.

At a briefing, Acevedo said Owens would be charged with two counts of capital murder and 23 of aggravated assault.

Alaska court records show that Owens was arrested for driving under the influence and has an outstanding warrant for criminal mischief.

At the Convention Center on Thursday morning, Samantha Kraft, 22, of Mount Holly, N.J., said, "It feels different here, to know that people have died."

Kraft is in Austin as a merchandise worker during the conference, and was in bed when the accident occurred. "It's weird to think that you could be out having a really good time," she said, "and then the next minute, something like that could happen. It's horrifying. It's definitely changed the mood around here. Everybody's talking about it."

Philadelphia's WXPN (88.5 FM) has its usual high profile at SXSW this year, including live-broadcast concerts hosted by World Cafe. Contacted by e-mail, program manager Bruce Warren called it "incredibly sad to hear what happened last night. Overall, many of the folks I have talked to definitely feel this has put a damper on the festival, but of course, it's nothing SXSW caused." He said some friends who were watching Philadelphia rocker Kurt Vile at the time of the accident reported a swift response by police and emergency services. "It was just an unfortunate accident," he said, "that's rippling through the vibe of the week."

"It's a shame that it happened," said Angel Olsen, a singer from Asheville, N.C. She had played to a packed house at the Mohawk on Wednesday afternoon in her first performance at SXSW. "It could have been me, it could have been my band. I feel terrible for the people it happened to. You go out to see a band and get hit by a drunk driver. I'm not blaming the festival, though."

For such a crowded, crazy festival, SXSW has until now never seen serious trouble. "Nothing like this has happened at SXSW during the seven years I've been chief officer," Acevedo said.

As if to illustrate the festival's will to go on, by Thursday afternoon, Lady Gaga was doing a sound check a block away from the scene of the accident.