Police shot at driver who ran over two

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Shortly after 2 a.m. Saturday, an officer spotted a car swerving on East Sixth Street near Trinity Street. 

The woman driving hit two people walking, and when the officer tried to stop her, she turned the car on him.

That's when the officer fired several rounds into her windshield. Afterward, she did stop and was taken into custody near San Jacinto Boulevard.

"It is very amazing to me no one else was seriously injured or killed, especially when you think about that time of night," said Police Chief Art Acevedo.

Acevedo said none of the shots fired hit the 24-year-old driver.

As of Saturday night, the woman still had not been named by police, but she was facing charges of aggravated assault with a motor vehicle.

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Both of the people hit by the car were taken to University Medical Center Brackenridge without life-threatening injuries and are in stable condition.

It is unclear if the driver was under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Acevedo said a driving-while-intoxicated and drug evaluation will be conducted to determine if either are factors.

Over the years, 6th street has become more and more popular, causing the sidewalks to overflow with people on the weekends -- that's why APD puts up barricades.

Once the barricades are in place, cars are not allowed to park, but those who parked before the barricades went up may leave while the street is still closed.

The question being asked in the wake of this event: should APD take a look at their 6th street policy when it comes to letting cars leave once the street has been closed?

"If they're sober and driving safe and driving real slow, I don't see a disaster coming out of that," said Asst. Chief Raul Munguia.

APD said this incident was random and they do not planon making any changes to their parking policy on 6th street.