On March 13th, I was one of the many concert-goers present in the crowded downtown Austin streets. My plan was to go to an Against Me! concert that was happening at the Red 7 Patio, right off of 8th and Red River. I had been waiting to go to an Against Me! Show for quite some time – since 2001 to be exact, and was extremely excited that they were playing at SXSW.
I got dropped off for the 12:50AM show around 12:30AM at 10th and Red River, right outside of a bar called Mohawk’s. Around the corner from the venue, I realized I had forgotten to leave some cash with my friend, so I gave her a call around 12:31 to tell her I’d head back and drop it off before I went to the show. I was a bit nervous that I’d miss it, but I figured I’d just rush back.
While on the phone, I heard a car rev by. Around 12:33, I hung up and proceeded to walk back to Mohawk’s. I turned the corner and there’s when I saw the first body lying in the street. My first thought was, ‘He’s probably really drunk…’. Then I saw the second body, and then a third, then remnants of a head light, bumper, and helmet spread across the asphalt. Confused and concerned, I asked a person standing by what happened, and he told me that a car just sped through the closed off street and hit a bunch of people.
My jaw dropped at the sight. It was like something out of a movie. There were people holding the injured heads’ in place with towels underneath, others were giving CPR to the best of their abilities, and officers were trying to keep the crowd contained and help whomever was closest to them. Surprisingly I don’t remember seeing a lot of blood- just hysterical bystanders who had gotten hit or hurt in some way from being so close to the scene. Ambulances rushed down the closed street, and with each street I came to, more bodies lay on the ground than the street before. I estimated that at least 10 people were injured that I could see, and 2 people were dead from the amount of time the police were giving CPR with no response, and I watched for a good two minutes to see any sign of hope or life.
All I kept thinking was, ‘What happened?’, and that if I were on that street one minute earlier, it could’ve been me lying on the ground. By 11th street and Red River, (and about the 11th body) the mayhem had subsided for the most part, and I approached my friend waiting in the car across the street frantic and hysterically crying. I had no desire to see the show at that point, and felt completely helpless that I couldn’t do more for the injured. Ambulance lights, and police barriers consumed the closed off street, and though they were quick to the scene, for some they weren’t quick enough.
No words can describe exactly the amount of emptiness and heartbreak I felt for the people I knew with certainty had lost their life that night. I had my friend just drive me back to my hotel, which was the safest place I could think of at the moment, and I felt sick to my stomach the entire drive there. I later learned that a drunk driver had stolen a car, and in an attempt to avoid getting arrested in a cop chase, turned down a one way street going the wrong way, and then sped down Red River, hitting about 30 innocent bystanders.
Thankfully, the driver was contained that evening by Austin Police, as well as I learned later that he is up for the death penalty and was apparently an artist who was set to perform at the SXSW event. I don’t think I’ll ever understand why someone would do something so terrible, for no real reason, but I won’t ever forget that imagery, and I hope that SXSW takes this as a lesson to make some drastic changes to drinking policies and properly barricading off the streets for such a major event.
