🌱 Update On 2 Deadly Crashes + School Active Shooter Training Debate

Hey, friends! It's Saturday in Cedar Park-Leander and I'm back in your inbox to get you caught up on all the most important things happening in the community today. Let's do it...

First, today's weather:

Partly sunny and hot. High: 98 Low: 73.

Here are the top three stories in Cedar Park-Leander today:

1. The Leander Police Department shared new details about the two deadly crashes on May 21 near the East San Gabriel Parkway. In the 12:11 a.m crash between a Dodge pickup truck and a Ford Explorer pickup truck, the Ford ran a red light while headed east on East San Gabriel Parkway. The front right seat passenger of the Ford, Anastasia Aleman, died at the scene. Both occupants of the Dodge and the other two occupants of the Ford were sent to Round Rock St. David’s Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. In the 2:38 a.m. single-vehicle crash in the 4000 block of North U.S. Highway 183, the driver, Brenan Swartz, died at the scene. He was driving a Chevrolet pickup truck at high speed without a seat belt when his car left the road and rolled multiple times, ejecting him from the vehicle. Police said, "Alcohol as well as distracted driving (using a mobile device) is also believed to be a factor in this crash." Both investigations are ongoing. (KXAN.com)
2. After the deadly Uvalde school shooting there have been conversations about hardening schools, ramping up active shooter training, and other safety measures in Central Texas schools. A study by Everytown for Gun Safety, the country’s largest gun violence prevention organization, found that active shooter drills increased student depression by 39 percent, stress and anxiety by 42 percent, concerns over death by 22 percent, and physiological health problems by 23 percent overall. Leander ISD parent Tom Henry is in favor of the training and thinks it should be done more frequently, "so that it just comes as an innate instinct on what people need to do and where they need to be under those circumstances." (KEYE TV CBS Austin)
3. Meet Guinness, an adorable female kitten looking for a forever home in your area! See Guinness and many more adoptable pets in the Cedar Park-Leander area. (Cedar Park-Leander Patch)

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Today in Cedar Park-Leander:

• Save Soil Walkathon In Austin At Brushy Creek Lake Park (7:30 AM)
• Free Family Mini Photo Sessions At Brushy Creek Lake Park (9:00 AM)
• Dads And Donuts At 200 Buttercup Creek Boulevard (9:00 AM)
• Virtual Esophageal Cancer Walk/Run At Cedar Park-Leander (9:00 AM)

From my notebook:

• Central Texas experts expect formula shortage to last another two to four months. View the link for the full story. (Community Impact Newspaper)
• Leander City offices are closed Monday, Jun. 20, in observance of Juneteenth National Independence Day! Leander Activity Center and garbage and recycling collections will operate as normal. Click here for more information. (Twitter)
• The Cedar Park Police Department has a black and brown medium-sized female dog that was found in the area of Brushy Creek & Kenai Drive. She is chipped but there are no matches in the data base for the chip registry. Please call 512-260-4600 ext. 0 if you have any information. (Facebook)

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Thanks for following along and staying informed! See you tomorrow for another update.

— Rose Mendez

About me: Rose Mendez is a freelance writer. She is studying English Literature at Hunter College. She loves reading, walking around the city, and coffee!