Man arrested in hit-and-run during South by Southwest now facing murder charge
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AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The man who was arrested in connection with a deadly hit-and-run in downtown Austin during South by Southwest now faces a murder charge in the incident, according to court documents.
Tyrone Thompson, 23, was arrested by the Austin Police Department last month and booked into the Travis County jail on several charges, including Driving While Intoxicated (DWI), resisting arrest search or transport, obstruction or retaliation, unlawful carrying of a weapon and an accident involving death, according to online jail records.
According to an affidavit obtained by KXAN, a murder charge was filed on March 29. There was not an attorney listed to represent Thompson on the murder charge, but KXAN will reach out to an attorney for comment when one is listed.
The affidavit said approximately four people were in the car at the time of the crash, but Thompson was identified as the driver and had a history with the vehicle, as he'd been previously pulled over in it.
Before the crash, an APD officer patrolling the area saw the vehicle, a Mazda, and noticed the passenger headlamp was faulty, according to the affidavit. The officer also saw the Mazda run a red light at East Eighth Street and Trinity Street, and pulled the car over in the 300 block of East Eighth, which is between Trinity Street and San Jacinto Boulevard.
According to the affidavit, the officer got out of his patrol unit and the Mazda began slowly driving away. The officer commanded the driver to stop, but the car sped off and began driving toward the intersection of East Eighth and San Jacinto at a high speed, running the red light at the intersection as well before heading southbound on San Jacinto, the affidavit said. The car also ran the red light at East Seventh and San Jacinto, the affidavit noted.
The officer returned to his patrol unit and began to follow the Mazda down East Seventh, the only available route due to the traffic closures put in place during South by Southwest, according to the affidavit. The officer saw the Mazda several blocks ahead appearing to be "operating in an extremely reckless manner" the affidavit said.
The affidavit said the Mazda appeared to run the red light at East Seventh and Neches Street before entering the intersection of East Seventh and Red River before it "swerved violently and fishtailed," appearing to have possibly been in a collision.
After that, the Mazda continued down East Seventh at a high speed and turned off its lights, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit noted about 30 seconds passed between when the officer tried to pull the Mazda over and the time of the auto-pedestrian crash, which happened when the Mazda ran the red light at East Seventh and Red River, and struck two pedestrians in the crosswalk.
One of the pedestrians died and the other had serious, life-threatening injuries. The Mazda did not stop to provide aid to the two victims. APD identified the pedestrian who died as 26-year-old Cody Shelton.
Police were able to identify Thompson through comparing his social media posts with footage from HALO cameras in the area.
He was initially booked into the Travis County Jail on March 12. Multiple bond amounts are listed in online jail records, but bond for the murder charge is $120,000.