UT music student dies during cab ride

KYLE (KXAN) - Friends remember Jeffrey Weng as a gifted musician and an outgoing guy.

"Everybody always thinks that their friends are really talented, but even his teachers recognized it," said friend and fellow University of Texas student Katherine Fan. "He was really great with performance."

Weng was a junior in the UT music department and a talented percussionist.

"He was a really confident guy, and it really showed in how he carried himself," said Fan.

Yet, Weng's life came to a tragic end after an early Saturday morning cab ride from Austin to San Marcos.

According to Kyle police, a Yellow Cab driver picked up Weng and another man in Austin and began driving them to San Marcos. When they got to Kyle, just north of Kyle Parkway, the cab driver told police he heard the back door open and then close. When he turned around, Jeffrey Weng was gone. Police said the driver asked the passenger if Weng jumped out of the cab, and the man responded, 'Yes.'

The cab driver immediately flagged down a Hays County Sheriff's Deputy who went to check on Weng. The deputy told the cab driver to wait there. Police said the driver waited a few minutes, and then drove the passenger on to San Marcos. He returned a short time later, though he has not been able to give police the address of the place where he left the passenger. Kyle police said they are looking for that man but do not have a good description of him.

Weng was taken to University Medical Center at Brackenridge, where he died Sunday from his injuries. His friends and family want to know more about how and why Weng died.

"It's hard because we don't really have closure at this point," said Fan. "We don't know how he got the injuries he did, and we don't really have any answers for why he's gone."

Friends said Weng dreamed of starting a program to provide musical instruments for underprivileged children. They plan to continue that dream in his honor. A memorial service will be held for Weng on the UT campus on Feb. 28.

 

 

 

 

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