AUSTIN -- Police are investigating a fatal crash. A sports car and an 18-wheeler collided early Monday morning on IH-35, killing the driver and a passenger inside the car.
Other drivers saw the accident and called police around 3:15 a.m.
Police shut down the southbound lanes of IH 35 between Fifth Street and First Street. The shutdown forced southbound drivers onto the frontage road at Tenth Street and Eleventh Street through Cesar Chavez.
Detectives are interviewing witnesses to the crash. Cpl. Steven Beasley says it appears rain may have been a factor in the crash.
The roads are slick from rainfall and puddles had formed on the highway where it slopes underneath Cesar Chavez. Cpl. Beasley says the driver in the sports car lost control and spun out in front of the 18-wheeler.
The driver and a passenger in the car died immediately in the crash. Their names haven't been released. Cpl. Beasley says the driver of the 18-wheeler is doing okay.
Officers cleared the crash by 6:45 and opened the lanes back up to traffic.
