A third person perished Monday as a result of the Thursday morning incident allegedly involving 21-year-old Rashad Charjuan Owens at the South by Southwest Festival (SXSW) in Austin, Texas. According to previous reports in Breitbart Texas, two people died at the scene and an additional 24 were injured.
The Austin Police Department (APD) confirmed to Breitbart Texas that 26-year-old Sandy Thuy Le died this morning as a result of injuries sustained from the crash.
Veneza Bremner, a spokesman with the APD, released a statement today that said, “A third person has been pronounced deceased from the SXSW crash on Red River St. She has been identified as Sandy Thuy Le, Asian female, (DOB 10-22-87).”
As Breitbart Texas previously reported on Friday, Owens was formally charged with capital murder and has a bond set at $3 million. An APD press release stated, “The reason only one Capital Murder charge was filed is that Texas State law requires two or more deaths in the same criminal transaction for the filing of a Capital Murder charge.”
APD spokeswoman Lisa Cortinas confirmed to Breitbart Texas that if Owens is found guilty of the charge against him, he could receive the death penalty.
Owens has an extensive criminal history. My San Antonio reported that he was convicted in 2011 for driving under the influence of marijuana in Alaska. During that incident, Owens apparently hit a lightening pole and then fled the scene. Alaska court records show that Owens was apprehended on three separate occasions in the state. One such arrest in 2012 for property damage remains listed as an “open” case.
In 2010, then-17-year-old Owens was also arrested by the Killeen school district Police Department, according to Statesman.com. After this arrest, he pled guilty to criminal trespass.
On March 14, the APD released the names of the two individuals who died on-site: 27-year-old Jamie Ranae West and 35-year-old Steven Craenmehr.
Follow Kristin Tate on Twitter @KristinBTate
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