Jury Finds Rashad Owens Guilty Of Murder In SXSW Crash

A Travis County jury on Friday found Rashad Owens, 23, guilty of capital murder in a crash that killed four people and injured more than 20 others at the 2014 South by Southwest festival.

The verdict means Owens will spend the rest of his life in prison without parole. According to the Austin American-Statesman, about 50 people heard the verdict in a crowded courtroom. Family members shed tears and embraced as the verdict was read, according to the paper.

The aspiring rapper and father of six drove through a crowd and killed 35-year-old Steven Craenmehr of Amsterdam, Holland, Austin resident Jamie West, 27, DeAndre Tatum, 18, and Sandy Le, 26.

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“Bodies were flying in the air as the defendant continued to hit victims without stopping,” prosecutor Amy Meredith told the jury during the trial.

Owens fled from an officer when he was pulled over at a gas station on the I-35 service road, drove the wrong way down Ninth Street - a one-way street - and through a SXSW barricade. He then drove through a group of pedestrians standing outside of Mohawk, a popular bar and music venue, killing Craenmehr and West. Tatum and Le died from injuries in the days that followed. Owens injured 24 others.

After being treated and released for minor injuries sustained in the crash, Owens agreed to a breath test, which showed his blood-alcohol content as .114, according an arrest affidavit. The legal blood-alcohol limit in Texas in .08. He pled not guilty to the crash in September.

[Photo: Travis County Jail]