11 a.m. update: A third person who was hit by a car during South by Southwest early Thursday morning has died, a hospital official said Monday.
Sandy Le, 26, was pronounced dead that morning, said her brother-in-law, Stuart Gates.
It’s standing-room-only in her hospital room, where about 20 family members and as many friends have gathered, Gates said.
“Anybody who had the privilege of knowing her would tell you she’s just full of life,” he said. “Not to sound cliché, she would just brighten up a room when she would walk in. She had an amazing quirkiness about her that was irreplaceable.”
Le was the youngest of four children raised in a Vietnamese family in Pass Christian, Miss., Gates said. She attended the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, and had moved to Austin to gain residency to attend school here.
Le had been in critical condition since early Thursday, when police say 21-year-old Rashad Owens fled a police officer and sped down two blocks of Red River that were closed off to vehicles for SXSW.
Le and 21 other people were injured in the incident. Jamie West, 27, and Steven Craenmehr, 35, were pronounced dead at the scene.
Six people remained in the hospital Monday.
Mason Endres, 18, the lone patient remaining at St. David’s Medical Center, is in fair condition. At University Medical Center Brackenridge, where Le was hospitalized, DeAndre Tatum remained in critical condition, Joseph McCraney and Kartisha Davis are in good condition, and Evan West, Jamie West’s husband, is in fair condition.
Gracie Nguyen was upgraded from serious to fair condition, a Seton Healthcare Family official said.
Earlier: Seven of 22 people who were injured when a car raced down a street that was closed to traffic on Thursday are still in the hospital, according to officials.
Six patients are at University Medical Center Brackenridge. Their conditions were not immediately available on Monday, but on Sunday, two were in critical condition, one was in serious condition, and two were in good condition. Evan West, whose wife, Jamie, was struck and killed during the incident, was in fair condition.
Mason Endres, 18, the lone patient remaining at St. David’s Medical Center, remained in fair condition Monday morning.
The suspect, Rashad Owens, is still in jail with bail set at $3 million for the capital murder charge that was filed Friday in the deaths of Jamie West, 27, and Steven Craenmehr, a 35-year-old musician from the Netherlands.
According to an arrest affidavit, Owens fled an officer who tried to pull him over early Thursday morning and then drove his car past barricades on Red River, where witnesses and police say he plowed through pedestrians without once hitting his brakes.
Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo has said that aggravated assault charges would be filed against Owens in connection with the people who were injured during the incident, but police officials said Monday that the case will be now presented to grand jury. That means that any additional charges won’t be announced unless the 21-year-old is indicted on them.
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