Austin, Texas: Juvenile Passenger Killed in MoPac Crash, Driver Arrested on Intoxication Manslaughter Charge

A juvenile passenger was killed Monday night in a crash on the MoPac Expressway in Austin, and a driver has been arrested on an intoxication manslaughter charge, according to Austin police reports and court records cited by local outlets on Tuesday.

What police say happened

Police said the collision happened at about 9:45 p.m. Monday on the northbound side of MoPac, also known as Loop 1, near Enfield Road. CBS Austin reported the crash involved two trucks. A juvenile passenger died, and Austin police told KVUE that a minor was dead after the collision.

The other driver was sent to a hospital, the Austin American-Statesman reported. Police have not released the name or age of the passenger who died, and Orbit Post does not publish the name of a juvenile victim in a crash report of this kind.

An arrest on an intoxication manslaughter charge

Court records cited by the Statesman show an 18-year-old Austin man was arrested and charged with intoxication manslaughter after the crash. CBS Austin reported the same charge, saying a driver was arrested on an intoxication manslaughter charge after the juvenile passenger was killed.

Intoxication manslaughter is the Texas charge used when prosecutors say an intoxicated driver caused a death by accident or mistake while driving. The charge is an allegation. The arrested driver is presumed innocent unless the case is proved in court, and no court outcome had been reported by Tuesday afternoon.

What is not known yet

Reports on Tuesday did not say how the two trucks came together, how fast either vehicle was traveling, or where the passenger was seated. They also did not give the hospital patient's condition. Police have not said in the reports read on Tuesday whether any part of MoPac stayed closed into Tuesday, and the expressway was carrying normal traffic by Tuesday afternoon.

MoPac is one of Austin's main north and south routes, and the Enfield Road section runs through central Austin close to downtown. A fatal crash in that section draws a large police and medical response and can close lanes while investigators measure the scene and clear wreckage.

Anyone who saw the crash and has not spoken with investigators should contact Austin police through the department's non-emergency line and ask for the vehicular homicide unit, the unit that handles fatal crash investigations in the city.