AUSTIN -- Austin police are investigating a fatal crash that killed one pedestrian and critically injured another. It happened around 7:00 p.m. Sunday night on Guadalupe near 31st Street.
Police say both pedestrians were on the sidewalk outside Wheatsville Co-op when the car went up on the curb, down the sidewalk, and hit them. The man, identified as 61-year-old Dik Van Meerten, died immediately, and the woman, identified as 21-year-old Sarah Lee Parker, suffered critical injuries. She has a fractured jaw, fractured shoulder, fractured leg. Her ear was nearly torn off and had to be surgically re-attached.
Police have identified the driver as 59-year-old Linda Woodman. According to her police affidavit, Woodman failed her sobriety test, had constricted pupils, and appeared intoxicated. However, investigators tell KVUE News they believe she may have been high on pills, and that she might have been receiving medical treatment right before the crash.
“(The driver) was flying by, and then I heard crash, crash, crash,” said Bonnie Cox who was working as a cashier in Wheatsville Co-op at the time of the crash.
“(The driver) was flying by, and then I heard crash, crash, crash,” said Bonnie Cox who was working as a cashier in Wheatsville Co-op at the time of the crash.
Remnants of the crash spilled out over several blocks along Guadalupe. Police say Woodman first hit a car at 31st Street, then went the wrong way down Guadalupe, jumped the curb, hit potted plants and took out parts of the wall and a bike rack, before hitting the two pedestrians.
“I came out, and I saw her groceries. I saw this young girl on the floor, and an older man unconscious,” said Cox.
Woodman didn’t stop. Skid marks line the path she took off the sidewalk and back down Guadalupe. She finally stopped after she crashed again between two poles on 29th Street.
The Austin Police Department DWI Unit responded to the crash. Details of their investigation weren’t immediately released. They are asking businesses along Guadalupe to check surveillance cameras. Detectives want to know if any were rolling at the time of the crash and if any captured those images. Police are asking anyone with photos, video, or information to come forward.
Firefighters at the Austin Fire Department's fire and arson investigation building tell KVUE News they have surveillance video showing Woodman's car traveling southbound into on-coming traffic.
Police took Woodman into custody and charged her with intoxicated manslaughter with a $30,000 bond. She has also been charged with intoxicated assault with a $25,000 bond.
