Austin, Texas: One Dead, Two Hurt in MoPac Crash at Steck Avenue, Northbound Lanes Reopen

A crash on the MoPac Expressway in North Austin killed one person and hurt two others on Wednesday afternoon and closed every northbound lane at Steck Avenue for hours. Austin police said a patient who was badly hurt in the crash was pronounced dead at a hospital. All northbound lanes later reopened.

The crash happened in the 8100 block of the MoPac Expressway, also signed as Loop 1, near Steck Avenue. Austin police officers went to the scene for a traffic fatality investigation on Wednesday afternoon. The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority said both the northbound general purpose lanes and the express lanes were blocked after the collision, and the Texas Department of Transportation told drivers that all northbound lanes on MoPac at Steck Avenue were closed because of the crash.

One dead, two hurt

Austin Police Department Watch Command later confirmed to CBS Austin that the critically injured patient was pronounced dead at the hospital. Two other people were hurt in the crash. Police did not release the name of the person who died on Wednesday, and officers did not say on Wednesday how many vehicles were involved or what caused the crash. The investigation is still open.

Lanes reopen after a long closure

The closure hit one of the main north and south routes through northwest Austin during the afternoon drive. Traffic was held off the northbound lanes at Steck Avenue while police worked the scene. KVUE reported that authorities later reopened all northbound lanes of MoPac after the deadly crash. Drivers who use the corridor should still expect police activity near the scene to wind down through the evening.

Police ask anyone who saw the crash or has video of it to contact the Austin Police Department. This story will be updated when police release the name of the person who died and the first findings on how the crash happened.

A main route through North Austin

MoPac is the local name for Loop 1, the freeway that carries traffic north and south along the west side of Austin. Steck Avenue crosses it in North Austin, in a stretch lined with neighborhoods, schools and shopping centers. A full northbound closure there pushes drivers onto the frontage roads and onto Burnet Road and other north south streets, and Wednesday's closure lasted through the afternoon. Austin police list the department's Vehicular Homicide unit at 512-974-8111 for anyone with information about a fatal crash investigation.