Early Thursday morning a driver plowed into a crowd of SXSW patrons at 10th and Red River Streets, outside popular live music venue The Mohawk. The accident led to two fatalities and 23 others were injured. Of the injured, it has been reported that five are critically injured.
The Mohawk was hosting the House of Vans show with Spin when the accident happened. The driver responsible, an unnamed male, is being investigated for driving under the influence. The suspect will be charged with two counts of capital murder and 23 counts of aggravated assault.
Punk band X was halfway through its show when the crash happened and management announced that there had been an incident. Audience members were told that they could stay, but most people left quickly. People outside were waiting in line to see a Tyler, the Creator show, but it was cancelled due to the accident.
Around 2:30 a.m. Thursday morning, The Mohawk tweeted “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims from tonight’s tragedy. Make sure everyone you know is home safe tonight.”
Much of Red River St. will be closed throughout Thursday, though other streets have opened back up to the public.
UPDATE: SXSW has made statement about venue and schedule changes for the remainder of the festival, following a video conference with the Austin Police Department. One of the changes includes the cancellation of Stereogum’s SXSW day party, scheduled today at The Mohawk. It would have featured Cloud Nothings, Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Fucked Up, Perfect Pussy, and Speedy Ortiz.
Pitchfork is reporting that one of the fatalities was Steven Craenmehr, the creative director of MassiveMusic.
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