AUSTIN – The KVUE digital team has gone through our archive and discussed the year's biggest stories.
To compile this list, we took into account story and video views on KVUE.com, reach on social media and interactions with viewers wanting to know more information about the stories on our list.
10: Shia LaBeouf arrested in Austin
The 'Even Stevens' and 'Transformers' actor was arrested for public intoxication Oct. 9 at the corner of Sixth Street and San Jacinto Boulevard in Downtown Austin. Police alleged LaBeouf tried to cross against a "Don't Walk" sign and got in an officer's face when he was told to turn back around.
LaBeouf's mugshot that evening was retweeted nearly 1,000 times.
9: SXSW trial
The crash during South by Southwest that killed four and injured more than 20 in 2014 gained international attention and was the top story on KVUE.com that year, but the trial for Rashad Owens in November 2015 did not get much attention from KVUE viewers.
Owens was convicted after a week-long trial and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Daily trial coverage:
- Jury seated in Rashad Owens trial
- Eyewitnesses, victims describe 'chaotic' scene in SXSW trial
- Dash-camera video of SXSW crash played in court
- Rashad Owens in dash-cam video: 'I was just scared'
- Both sides rest in Rashad Owens trial, closing arguments Friday
- Victims confront driver convicted in deadly SXSW crash
8: Judge Kocurek shot at outside her home
State District Judge Julie Kocurek was returning home from her son's football game Nov. 6 when someone opened fire on her car in West Austin. Kocurek was not struck by any bullets, but was injured by shrapnel and glass. She spent more than six weeks in the hospital recovering from her injuries, and was released shortly before Christmas.
While Kocurek was recovering, Austin police named Chimene Onyeri as a person of interest in the shooting. Authorities in Houston arrested Onyeri on an unrelated murder charge. As of Dec. 30, no one has been charged in the shooting.
KVUE learned that the Travis County District Attorney's office did receive a threat about three weeks before the shooting, but investigators decided not to warn judges.
7: I-35 bridge collapse
In the late morning hours of March 26, a flatbed truck carrying a load too tall for the FM 2484 overpass under construction struck the overpass. The impact dislodged two beams that fell onto the roadway, crushing a pickup being driven by Clark Davis, 32, of Arlington. Davis died in the collapse and two others were injured.
Following an investigation, the Texas Department of Public Safety said the truck and its load was more than 6 inches taller than the bridge's clearance, and that the driver, 41-year-old Valentin Martinez, was not paying attention at the time of the crash.
In April, Davis' family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Martinez and the owner of his truck, Crowley-based Lares Trucking.
6: Austin cobra
Crews responded to a welfare check on 18-year-old Grant Thompson the evening of July 14 in the parking lot of the Lowe's near I-35 and Parmer Lane. Police found him unresponsive and he was transported to St. David's Round Rock Medical Center where he passed away.
Authorities searched his car and home, but a poisonous monocled cobra was unaccounted for. The hashtag #AustinCobra and Austin Cobra Facebook page spawned from the event. Hours before a search team was set to begin looking for the missing cobra, a driver found the snake dead along the Interstate 35 service road.
The Travis County Medical Examiner concluded that Thompson committed suicide by allowing the cobra to bite him multiple times, according to autopsy records obtained by KVUE's Tony Plohetski in November.
5: October floods
Severe weather makes its first appearance on our list at number 5 with the storms on Oct. 30 that dropped more than a foot of rain in some locations and caused flash flooding across parts of Central Texas that killed three. Approximately 15 inches of rain fell at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, flooding the air traffic control tower with six inches of water and obliterating the old rain record for that day by more than 14 inches.
Creeks and rivers spilled over their banks, causing damage in several locations including near Onion Creek, throughout Thoroughbred Ranchettes near Dry Creek, the Colorado River in Bastrop County and the Blanco River in Wimberley.
Two tornadoes were confirmed in the Austin area on Oct. 30, causing damage in Guadalupe and Hays Counties.
A phone interview Bryan Mays and Yvonne Nava had with resident Kerry Packer on Oct. 30 went viral, as Packer revealed he was still in a tree while talking to our Daybreak anchors.
The Facebook video from inside Packer's vehicle was one of the most-reached posts on the KVUE Insider in 2015, reaching 1.6 million people.
Cleanup in some areas will continue into 2016. Go here for move coverage of the 2015 Halloween flood.
4: Waco Twin Peaks shooting
The gunfire started on May 17 and by the time it was over, nine people were dead, 18 injured, and more than 100 bikers at the scene were arrested. The shooting started after rival biker gangs held a large gathering at a Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco. A fight broke out inside of the restaurant and spilled outside into the parking lot where guns and other weapons were allegedly used in the altercation and shootout.
Police said 16 uniformed officers, including five supervisors and SWAT officers, were at the restaurant when the shooting started. Waco Police said they recovered more than 1,000 pieces of evidence from the scene and the weapon count from that day was 475 including guns, knives, brass knuckles, batons, stun guns, bats, a machete and other items. Law enforcement officials said 177 people were arrested after the shooting.
3: Hidden Pines Fire
A fire that started on the Luecke Farm in Bastrop County on Oct. 13 quickly spread and scorched more than 4,500 acres.
An attorney for the farm told KVUE a long-time employee was cutting briar bushes when he noticed a small fire. He attempted to extinguish the fire and called 911 when the extinguisher was not enough.
The fire was completely contained 11 days later, but more than 60 structures were destroyed. The Texas A&M Forest Service ruled the fire accidental by use of equipment.
Twenty-two families filed a lawsuit against the owners of the farm Nov. 12, claiming the owner was negligent due to a burn ban being in effect and the National Weather Service warning of an elevated fire risk the day the fire started.
2: Samantha Dean murder
The discovery of Samantha Dean's body in a Bastrop parking lot in February quickly grew into one of the largest stories of the year, with an Austin police officer being investigated in connection to her death and the officer being fired for going AWOL to Indonesia. Dean worked as the victim services coordinator for the Kyle Police Department.
VonTrey Clark was suspended less than one week after Dean's murder, and sources told KVUE that Clark had close ties to Dean, who was seven months pregnant when she was killed. Authorities believed Clark was the father of Dean's unborn daughter.
Clark was fired from APD on July 23, six days after he left Dallas for Indonesia for medical treatment. Clark was extradited to the United States in September, and has been charged with capital murder in Dean's death. Clark pleaded not guilty in a November court appearance. Online records from Bastrop County indicates Clark is set appear again in court in February.
Go here to view more details about the Samantha Dean case.
1: Memorial weekend storms
This was a unanimous choice for top story of 2015 among the digital team. A series of drought-busting storms peaked May 23-25 with torrential rain on May 23 over the headwaters of the Blanco River and confirmed tornadoes along the I-35 corridor.
Eight tornadoes (all rated EF0 or EF1) were confirmed the evening of May 23 in Williamson, Travis and Hays Counties. The more than 12 inches of rain in southern Blanco County entered the Blanco River and began moving downstream in the late hours of May 23. The "flood wave" moved down the river, causing it to rise more than 30 feet in a short amount of time. The level at which the Blanco River crested in Wimberley is only an estimate, as the river gauge station was destroyed shortly after 1 a.m. on May 24.
Twelve people died in the weekend's flooding, with six-year-old William Charba and four-year-old Leighton McComb still listed as missing. Both were last seen in Wimberley when the home they were staying at was swept off its foundation by a wall of water. A ceremony was held in October for those lost in the flood.
The wall of water on the Blanco river closed Interstate 35 for a time as water submerged the bridge. The water flooded parts of San Marcos and communities along the San Marcos River
Another round of storms moved through on Memorial Day itself, with five confirmed tornadoes in Central Texas. The strongest of those five was an EF2 near Cameron in Milam County that killed one and injured five.
Residents across the region dealt with flooding on Memorial Day, with Shoal Creek overflowing its banks, flooding businesses along North Lamar and warping the turf at House Park in Austin. Heavy rain caused a dam at Bastrop State Park to burst, with the water flowing into the Colorado River.
In the aftermath of the storms, viewers donated nearly $42,000 to go toward Hays County through the #HelpHays campaign.
Go here for more on the Memorial weekend storms.
Honorable mentions:
Jade Helm 15:
A planned military exercise taking place in seven states during the summer quickly spawned conspiracy theories about the U.S. invading Texas, people being forced into old Walmarts converted to FEMA camps and Blue Bell trucks being used as mobile morgues for the pending takeover. Bastrop County residents packed a commissioners court meeting on April 27, and were not satisfied with answers given by the U.S. Army.
Gov. Abbott ordered the Texas State Guard to monitor the exercise, a move which drew criticism from 'The Daily Show.' (YouTube video)
The exercise ended Sept. 15 as scheduled, and the people who started the conspiracy theories have yet to apologize for scaring people.
Blue Bell recall:
The Brenham ice cream company's first recall in more than a century was a huge hit on the Washington County community. After listeria was found in machines and the bacteria connected to the deaths of three people in Kansas, all of their products were pulled from shelves in April.
Many Central Texas residents went without ice cream through the summer, remaining loyal to the local brand. The company announced they would bring the product back in phases starting in late August.
BEVO XIV retires, dies
The University of Texas Silver Spurs announced Oct. 7 that Bevo XIV would not attend the Red River Showdown on Oct. 10 due to a "life-threatening condition." Following the Longhorns' upset of Oklahoma, the university announced his immediate retirement Oct. 13 due to bovine leukemia.
The Longhorn mascot died three days later, and the university said a search for Bevo XV had begun. As of Dec. 28, the university has not unveiled the new Bevo.
Neville's reprieve
Neville's journey started on Sept. 22 when he was placed in a pen with other dogs looking for a new home. Austin Pets Alive! staff said that despite their warnings and posted signs asking parents to supervise their children, a family put their two-year-old son on the ground with the dogs in the pen. APA said the child hugged Neville and was "kind of shaking him" and then hugged him again and the dog bit the child's face.
A local judge ordered the dog to be euthanized and that's when social media took action. Tens of thousands signed an online petition asking for Neville to be taken off doggy death row and eventually the order to destroy Neville was rescinded and the dog was returned to Austin Pets Alive!
Neville's journey didn't end there though. A host of restrictions were put on Neville should anyone adopt him including: being registered as a dangerous dog, being on a leash or secured at all times, and having $100,000 liability insurance against future incidents. But a little more than a month before Christmas, Neville was adopted by a family that has remained anonymous. Neville is now enjoying his days with some other dogs and cats who are also owned by his new family.
Perrin replaces Patterson at UT
Less than one month into the fall semester at the University of Texas, men's athletic director Steve Patterson was fired Sept. 16 by University President Gregory Fenves.
Former UT linebacker Mike Perrin was introduced the following day as the interim athletic director. In early December, the university made the position permanent, signing Perrin through the 2017-18 school year.
Same-sex marriage ruling (Tyler's commentary)
The Supreme Court's ruling on June 26 that legalized same-sex marriage in the United States was a polarizing decision. Attorney General Ken Paxton told county clerks to wait for instructions from his office before issuing licenses and people celebrated the decision in many cities across both Texas and the nation.
KVUE anchor Tyler Sieswerda made a commentary on the court's ruling.