SXSW crash claims third life, Sandy Le

From USA TODAY

AUSTIN, Texas — A third person died Monday from injuries sustained in last week’s tragedy in which a suspected drunken driver plowed through a crowd outside a nightclub at the South By Southwest music festival.

The car hit the victim, Sandy Le, outside The Mohawk nightclub last Thursday. Photo from Le’s family.

The car hit the victim, Sandy Le, outside The Mohawk nightclub last Thursday, according to the Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Le, 26, was an Austin resident but was a native of Pass Christian, Miss., her family said. She had been on life support in critical condition since the accident occurred.

“She lived in this whimsy that almost made you jealous, she was a very carefree and nonchalant person with a definitely giving spirit, and she was very selfless,” said her brother-in-law, Stuart Gates of Hattiesburg, Miss. “She was full of life, she was quirky, and she was always someone you were looking forward to seeing.”

Le was with a group of friends, some also injured, when police say Rashad Owens, 21, of Killeen, Texas, crashed through a barricade closing the downtown street to vehicle traffic. He’s accused of driving drunk, fleeing from police and intentionally driving into a crowd of festival-goers.

Jamie West, 27, of Austin, and Steven Craenmehr, 35, of Amsterdam, were killed that night. Twenty-two others were injured. Six people remain hospitalized, including one in critical condition.

Craenmehr was on a bicycle, and West was on a moped with her husband, police said. West’s husband remains hospitalized.

SXSW ended its 28th year early Sunday.

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