3rd Person Dies in SXSW Crash

Sandy Le succumbs to injuries
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 17, 2014 12:13 PM CDT
3rd Person Dies in SXSW Crash
A cross and flowers are outside The Mohawk in Austin, Texas, on Saturday March 15, 2014, as a memorial to the people who died in the hit-and-run tragedy at SXSW.   (AP Photo/Austin American-Statesman, Jay Janner)

A third person is now dead following the horrific SXSW crash last week in which Rashad Owens allegedly drove into a crowd of festivalgoers in Austin. Local resident Sandy Le succumbed to her head injuries today, the Houston Chronicle reports. A grand jury will decide whether Owens should face any further charges, CNN reports; he's currently charged with two counts of capital murder. Seven victims remain hospitalized; their conditions range from critical to good.

An arrest warrant for Owens released Friday revealed that police say he did not brake—indeed, he accelerated—as he approached crowds; police earlier said Owens intentionally drove toward people in the hopes of escaping the officer trying to pull him over. Owens told police he "got scared" when he saw police lights behind him, because he had outstanding warrants that could have sent him to prison for five years, the AP reports. He allegedly drove through concertgoers for nearly three city blocks, only stopping when he crashed into a taxi and a parked van. His blood-alcohol content was found to be 0.114, over the legal limit of 0.08. (More Rashad Owens stories.)

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