A truck tractor failed to slow causing several vehicles to crash on I35. Five people died and 11 others were hospitalized. NBC 5’s Allie Spillyards has the latest.
In the days following a crash that killed five people and left 11 others hospitalized, federal authorities have arrived in Austin to determine what went wrong.
They also announced that the truck that investigators say caused the crash was operated by a company in Dallas.
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WATCH HERE“Tomorrow, we plan to photograph and survey the crash area, document the crash scene with the drone, and begin contacting survivors of the crash to obtain witness reports and offer our support,” said National Transportation Safety Board investigator Kenny Bragg.
During a press conference Saturday, the NTSB laid out what it knows thus far.
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SIGN UP Thursday night, officials say traffic was building behind a TxDOT resurfacing project in the southbound lanes of Interstate 35 that narrowed three lanes into one.
“As the end of the queue reached milepost 245.4, a truck tractor approach failed to slow down and struck several vehicles in the traffic queue,” said Bragg.
Authorities said that the five people killed in the crash that involved 17 vehicles included three adults, a child, and an infant. First responders said that 11 people were taken to hospitals.
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Police have charged the driver, Solomun Weldekeal Araya, with five counts of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault.
Police said he was in custody in the Travis County Jail. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney. Jail records did not list an attorney for him.
Austin affiliate KXAN reported that ZBN Transport LLC told them, Araya has been with their company for four months and there have been no issues with him prior. They said they conduct background checks, and nothing showed up for Araya.
NBC 5 reached out to a number associated with ZBN Transport on Saturday. The person who answered said they did not wish to comment on the crash.
The NTSB said it's still working to determine how fast Araya was driving and continues working on the ground with local authorities to make sure something like this never happens again.
Its investigators will remain in Austin for another week or more.
