AUSTIN, Texas — In an instant, Pablo Vazquez's mood at SXSW careened from giddy excitement to horrific shock as an intoxicated driver sped past, narrowly missing him by a foot but striking 25 other people near him within a minute.
"I saw people fly up ... I saw a guy bleeding to death," Vazquez, 25, told Mashable, less than 24 hours after a car crashed through barricades in downtown Austin along Red River street, killing two people and leaving 23 injured at 12:30 a.m. local time. As of Thursday evening, five remained in critical condition, three were receiving treatment and 15 have been treated and released.
The Austin Police Department confirmed to Mashable that the driver was 21-year-old Rashad Charjuan Owens from Killeen, Texas, who was previously charged with driving under the influence in 2011. The deceased include one male and one female, riding on a bike and a moped, respectively, when Owens' silver Toyota Sedan struck them at 11th and Red River streets. He continued down River Street and struck a taxi and parked van, at which point Owens left his car and tried fleeing on foot. Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo said all of this took place over the span of just one minute.
News of the incident immediately began making waves, with pedicab drivers relaying what little information they had before the 2:30 a.m. press conference during which officials confirmed the death toll, injury count and explained next steps. Acevado relayed that Owens had been tased and apprehended. He will be charged with two counts of capital murder and 23 counts of aggravated assault with a vehicle.
After witnessing the incident, Vazquez quickly pulled out his iPhone 5. "I tried to direct people off the street, I tried to tell people not to come this direction and I tried to find police officers to help the victims," he said.
He saw others calling 9-1-1, so he opened Twitter and typed a call for help to his hundreds of followers. "I've always found the Internet to be a comfort zone for me," Vazquez told Mashable. "It really helped me cope and calm my nerves to connect so instantly to people, while I saw folks that were crying their eyes out, screaming and convulsing because they didn't know what to do."
His tweeted two minutes after Owens' car struck a moped, bike, taxi and parked van.
I just saw someone die outside Mohawk at SXSW. People got hit by a car. Bloody chaos. Please come help if you know medical help. #SXSW
— Pablo Vazquez, III (@TheMrSaturday) March 13, 2014
"[The car] hit people right before it sped by me, and it continued to hit other people too that were down the road," Vazquez said Thursday afternoon by phone. "I saw both the injuries and fatalities." Vazquez had been waiting in line to get into hip-hop collective Odd Future's show at Mohawk at 9th and Red River streets.
SXSW officials informed attendees know the festivals would remain on scheduled, though some venues near the crash site may later schedules and locations.
Joshua Johnson, 27, who had traveled to Austin from Los Angeles for the festival, said he woke up to messages from friends and relatives asking if he was alive. He had left the accident scene, where his car was parked, minutes before the events unfolded.
"It's hard to believe my car was in the line of what happened just minutes earlier," Johnson said. "It's crazy how life can change within 15 minutes."
Authorities are encouraging people to donate blood to the local Red Cross (call 512-206-1266 to make appointments).
"Despite all of our preparations for dealing with a major incident during SXSW, nothing could really prepare us for how this feels," SXSW managing director Roland Swenson said in a statement. "As much as we would like to just go home and spend time absorbing the shock of this horrific event, we feel our best use is to continue to operate today."
Vazquez noted that crisis counselors were on hand to help witnesses and survivors.