During SXSW 2014, Rashad Owens crashed his car into a group of people waiting outside the Mohawk. Twenty people were injured and four people were killed, including Sandy Le, the roommate of longtime TMT writer E. Nagurney. Now, The Austin-American Statesman has announced that he has been found guilty of capital murder and will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The street where the incident occurred, 9th and Red River, had been closed to traffic for the festival. The jury agreed with the prosecutor’s claim that Owens had been aware of the actions he was taking as he drove through the barricades and into the crowds after attempting to evade a traffic stop. “There is no other answer than that the defendant knew what he was doing — and he didn’t care,” prosecutor Amy Meredith said. “He didn’t care who was in his way. He was not going to be stopped. He was not going to go to jail.”
Arguing that Owens was unfamiliar with the city of Austin and hadn’t intended to kill anyone, defense lawyer Rick Jones said, “We don’t know at what point Mr. Owens perceived what was in front of him. We don’t know what time he had to react.”
May those who died that night rest in peace. <3
