Woman wanted for murder after evading DPS trooper, causing deadly crash in SE Austin

AUSTIN, Texas - Austin police are looking for a woman responsible for a deadly car crash in Southeast Austin back in June. 

DPS believes she is the same driver who evaded a traffic stop on the same night.

The suspect is still at large and wanted for murder.

What happened?

The backstory:

Austin police said on June 4, around 9:03 p.m., officers responded to a crash that involved two cars and a pickup truck at the intersection of East Ben White SVRD WB and East Riverside Drive. 

The driver and a passenger that were in one car were taken to the hospital. The driver, 66-year-old Lisa Gail Cooper, later died. 

All other people involved in the crash had minor injuries or were not injured. 

Dig deeper:

Earlier that night, DPS initially tried to stop the suspect, 22-year-old Casandra Barron-Manzanarez, for a traffic violation. She fled, and the trooper lost sight of the car. 

After, the same car ran a red light and hit another car traveling through the intersection. The second car was then hit by a truck that was driving behind it. The driver of the second car, Cooper, died from her injuries at the hospital. 

Originally, DPS did not believe the car they were chasing was the same car involved in the deadly crash that APD investigated. Investigators later determined Barron-Manzanarez was in fact the same driver.

Because Cooper was killed in the crash, a murder charge has been issued for Barron-Manzanarez. 

The arrest warrant was issued on August 15, and she has not yet been taken into custody.

Anyone with any information should contact APD's Vehicular Homicide Unit at 512-974-8111. You may submit your tip anonymously through the Capital Area Crime Stoppers Program by visiting austincrimestoppers.org or calling 512-472-8477.