AUSTIN, Texas (KXAN) — At least five people died and 11 were hurt in a crash involving at least 17 vehicles, including semitrailers, on Interstate 35 in north Austin late Thursday night, police said.
The Austin Police Department said a 37-year-old man was arrested related to the crash.
Solomun Weldekeal Araya, 37, was charged with five counts of intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle and two counts of intoxication assault with a vehicle involving serious bodily injury.
Police sources confirmed with Nexstar’s KXAN that the driver of a semitrailer had been arrested. A first responder source said preliminary evidence showed an Amazon truck was involved in the crash. KXAN has requested a comment from Amazon.
KXAN also reached out to another company that owns a semitrailer involved in the crash.
As of Friday morning, the owner of ZBN Transport LLC said there’s been no contact with its semitrailer driver, whom they did not name. The company said it would continue to reach out, but the driver has yet to respond to their calls.
According to first responders, the five people who died included three adults, one child and one infant. The other 11 people who were injured included:
- four adults with critical, life-threatening injuries
- four adults with minor injuries
- one child with potentially life-threatening injuries
- two children with minor injuries
According to police, all the people who needed help were off the scene, and those in critical condition were removed in about 40 minutes. APD said the crash happened around 11:20 p.m.
The cause of the crash is being investigated, according to police.
Road closures
Austin police posted at 11:58 p.m. that all southbound lanes of I-35 were closed in the area between Parmer and Howard Lanes. The southbound service road near the crash has since been reopened.
According to ATCEMS, the scene spread across about 1/10 of a mile.
In an update, the Texas Department of Transportation said law enforcement expected the main lanes to remain closed for several more hours Friday. The department said drivers should find an alternate route if possible. TxDOT said drivers could use State Highway 130 as an alternate route.
“Tolls are being waived from SH 45 to US 290 East. I-35 main lanes are expected to remain closed for several more hours as law enforcement continues to investigate,” TxDOT said.
The Austin Fire Department said the extensive closure was partially due to a diesel spill on the road as well as time mitigated for cleanup to clear the road of other debris.
This is a developing story.