AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Police are investigating after a pedestrian was killed Friday morning on Bluff Springs Road in southeast Austin.
Police say the person was in the road at the time of the crash at 1:30 a.m. The pedestrian was hit by two cars, and initially the driver of the first car fled the scene. The driver of the second car that hit the pedestrian called the police and remained on scene.
Police say once the driver of the first car, a man, heard the pedestrian died, he contacted police. His car was impounded. No arrests have been made, police say.
Austin-Travis County EMS says paramedics took the pedestrian to the hospital with critical life-threatening injuries, but the pedestrian later died.
Police closed both sides of Bluff Springs Road closed while they investigated the crash, and it is now back open.
IN-DEPTH: Deadliest year on Austin roads ever?
It’s the 12th traffic death in Austin this year, and if the pace keeps up, 2020 will be the deadliest year ever on our roads.
Currently, Austin is on pace for 115 traffic deaths. That would surpass the 103 deaths in 2015, and would just be the second year we’ve ever topped 100 traffic deaths.
In 2019, there were 89 traffic deaths.
Austin traffic deaths, by the numbers:
- 2020 – 115 (current pace)
- 2019 – 88
- 2018 – 75
- 2017 – 76
- 2016 – 79
- 2015 – 103
- 2014 – 63
- 2013 – 75
- 2012 – 78
Kathy Sokolic, Chair of Central Texas Families for Safe Streets, spoke to the Austin City Council on Thursday about Vision Zero ATX, which aims to reduce traffic deaths to zero by 2025. As the chart shows, it’s trending the wrong way.
“Sometimes, when you put safe systems in place, it takes awhile to show the results of all that hard work,” she said. “We will see results, but we also all have to take ownership of this and be part of the solution.”
