Austin police say no charges will be filed against a driver who police fired on on Sixth Street over the weekend.
As KUT News previously reported, shortly after 2 a.m. early Sunday morning an Austin police officer opened fire on a car that the officer said was driving straight at him after hitting two bystanders.
YNN Austin quoted police chief Art Acevedo’s description of the scene: "This person, for unknown reasons, decided to rapidly accelerate to the extent that she left acceleration skid mark on the pavement … And not only drove toward civilian victims – and struck civilian victims – but also drove toward the officer and refused to stop until shots rang out."
But this afternoon, police announced no charges would be filed against the unnamed motorist, whom they described as fleeing the scene quickly out of concern for her safety.
Here’s the statement from police:
On Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012 at 2:28 a.m., a female working at a bar on 6th street finished working her shift and went to her vehicle. … The individual got in her vehicle when a crowd of up to 15 people began striking her vehicle, making her fear for her safety. She put her car in drive and drove from her parking spot causing one person that was on her car to fall off. Additionally, she struck another person that was in the crowd. APD officers were standing 40-50 feet away at the intersection of 6th and San Jacinto Streets when they heard tires squealing. They turned their attention toward where the vehicle was attempting to leave. Officer Robert Krummel, a 3-year veteran of the Austin Police Department, heard tires squealing. He turned around and began to approach the area where he heard the noise coming from. The vehicle was travelling at a high rate of speed towards him. He believed that he was going to be struck by the vehicle and fired several shots at the car. The female heard the shots and stopped her car immediately. At this time, the Austin Police Department does not anticipate filing any charges against the driver of the car. However, once the investigation is complete it will be presented to the Travis County Grand Jury. Anyone that may have witnessed this incident or that may have information is asked to call the Special Investigations Unit 512-974-6840.
Amateur video of the incident's aftermath has been uploaded to YouTube:
