Car Crashes Into Red River SXSW Crowd: First Victim Identified

River Red. Mohawk. SXSW. 

Some incredible things have occurred at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, like the world premiere of the new found footage classic EXISTS.

And then disaster struck.

One of the first spokespeople detailing the accident, Lt. Brian Moon of Austin Police Department told the media that a Vehicular Homicide Unit and DWI Unit are investigating the driver for driving under the influence. At a press conference held shortly after the incident, Art Acevedo, Austin chief of police, said the suspect was currently in custody and will be charged with two counts of capital murder and 23 counts of aggravated assault.

The tragedy outside the Mohawk, a popular bar and live music venue, cast a pall over downtown Austin as the Texas city plays host to the annual South By Southwest festival. SXSW draws tens of thousands of people for its program of films, music and interactive technology.

Acevedo called the rampage an "intentional act" and said the driver faces two counts of capital murder and other charges. KVUE, citing two sources, identified the suspect is Rashad Charjuan Owens, 22, of Killeen, Texas.

Mugshot of Rashad Charjuan Owens from the Bell County Sheriff's Office.

Rashad is of Arabic origin, and the meaning is "good judgment" and "thinker."

The meanings and origins of Charjuan is unclear.

Owens is a name of Welsh/Celtic origins with the meaning, "well-born" and "young fighter."

Killeen means "church," "church-yard" and "grave-yard," as well as "treasure-box," "nest-egg" and "treasure." In the "grave-yard" context "Cillín" (and its English version "Killeen") came to mean the small "cill" or burial-ground, outside of the consecrated grave-yard, where unbaptised infants were buried. This is often its meaning in placenames. The little "treasure boxes" contained the tiny innocents who were buried there.
Acevedo said he encouraged organizers to push on with the nine-day festival, which is expected to draw 70,000 people to music, film technology and education programs.

"This is an individual who showed no regard for the human beings he plowed through," Acevedo said at a press conference. "We can't let one individual ruin this great event."

Officers initially tried to pull over the driver at a gas station on an Interstate 35 service road around 12:30 a.m. CT Thursday, March 13, 2014. The driver fled the wrong way down a one-way street and turned onto a street that had been closed after a concert. The Toyota sedan hit pedestrians at a "high rate of speed."

Acevedo said the driver then hit a man and a woman on a moped, then a taxi and a van, before stopping the vehicle and fleeing on foot. The driver was pursued, shocked with a stun gun and taken into custody.

A local woman on the moped and a bicyclist from the Netherlands were killed. Two of the injured remain in critical condition, Acevedo said.

The bicyclist was a 35-year-old Dutch musician and music agency employee.

The man, Steven Craenmehr, was identified by his employer, Massive Music, on the company’s website and Facebook page Thursday morning. The company said Craenmehr worked there for 8 years and Craenmehr listed his position as “creative director & sonic branding specialist” on his personal Facebook page. A Twitter profile under Craenmehr’s name said he is also a musician, composer, lead singer and guitarist.

A translation of Craenmehr is unknown at this time.

The name of the woman has not been released.