Crashes in Austin leave 4 dead, several others injured

AUSTIN, Texas - At least four people are dead and several are injured after a string of crashes in Central Texas this weekend. 

On Friday, a pedestrian was hit and killed by a vehicle on the 4200 block of South Congress Avenue near Ben White Boulevard around 11 p.m. The next morning, around 3:30 a.m., a two car collision sent one vehicle flying into the Bel Air Motel just a few miles down the road. Four people were injured. 

Around 8 p.m. that same day, a pedestrian was killed when a car hit them in North Austin at the intersection of North Lamar Boulevard and Beaver Street. 

The crashes are just a few of the 9,377 on Austin roadways this year, according to data from Vision Zero, a holistic strategy to end traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries.

"There's so many people whose lives are going to be forever changed by a moment in time. And when you know that that moment in time could have been prevented, that really sticks with you," said Captain Christa Stedman, of Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services. 

As of Oct. 3 at 4 p.m., 396 people have been seriously injured in Austin collisions. That number was 25 at the same time last year. Fatalities, however, have dropped by 11 since last year. There are 72 to-date.  

Crashes are also up outside the city, according to Sgt. Deon Cockrell of the Texas Department of Public Safety. 

"A lot of this is due to the congestion. We're seeing more cars and more people on the roadway and without a lot of people in a hurry," Cockrell explained. 

Two people were killed, and one person was arrested following a crash in Leander Friday night. 

One person was killed and another injured after a motorcycle collided with a deer Sunday.