Man charged with intoxication manslaughter in Texas crash involving 17
vehicles that killed 5 people
[March 15, 2025]
A man was charged Friday with intoxication manslaughter after
five people were killed and several injured in a late-night wreck in
Austin, Texas, that involved over a dozen vehicles on Interstate 35,
authorities said.
Authorities said that the five people killed in the crash that involved
17 vehicles Thursday just before 11:30 p.m. included three adults, a
child and an infant. First responders said that 11 people were taken to
hospitals.
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Officials examine the aftermath of a fatal crash on I-35 southbound near
Parmer Lane Friday March 14, 2025 in Austin, Texas. (Jay Janner/Austin
American-Statesman via AP) |
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Solomun Weldekeal Araya, 37, was charged with five counts of
intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault
after the crash, Austin police said Friday. Police said he was
in custody in Travis County Jail. It was not immediately clear
if he had an attorney. Jail records did not list an attorney for
him.
Police have not detailed the circumstances that led to the
wreck. Police said in an email Friday that they were still early
in the investigation and had no further information available to
release.
The southbound lanes of I-35 were closed following the crash,
and they remained closed into Friday before reopening at about 1
p.m. The wreck left a stretch of the interstate littered with
mangled vehicles and debris.
The collision was “very large and very complex,” police Officer
Austin Zarling said at an early morning news conference.
Edgar Viera told the KXAN television station that he was at a
nearby store when he heard the crash and went to try to help
those involved.
“We didn’t have the proper tools to open the vehicles, so we
just did what we could,” Viera told the station. “It was hard to
see this.”
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