Police have revealed the identity of the driver who struck a crowd with his car at SXSW. Rashad Owens, 21, a father of six and an aspiring rapper, has been charged with one count of capital murder and could face as many as 23 counts of aggravated assault with a vehicle. Owens, originally from Killeen, TX, was in town to perform at a local club as part of the South by Southwest festival (SXSW). Owens later left that evening and had a blood alcohol level of .114, which is .8 over the legal limit in Texas. A police officer noticed he did not have his headlights on and tried to pull him over and that’s when Owens fled.
According to law enforcement and witnesses, Owens sped away in his car weaving and cutting through a gas station at high speed. He then went down a one way street that had been barricaded. A police officer dove out of the way of the rapper’s car as he accelerated towards a crowd, never braking. Witnesses report bodies flying through the air as Owens went on to kill two people and seriously injure another 23.
Owens has a previous arrest for DUI from 2011 in Fairbanks, Alaska and also other legal troubles in 2010 and 2012. He is being held on a $3 million bail.
