Street racing crash turns deadly in Southeast Austin

AUSTIN, Texas — One person is dead following a street racing crash in southeast Austin overnight.

It happened at the intersection of Bluff Springs Road and Quicksilver Boulevard.

According to Austin Police detectives, a car and truck were both driving northbound on Bluff Springs Road around 11 p.m. Wednesday when the drivers decided to race.

The car pulled ahead but began to slow down to make a turn. The truck caught up, crashing into the car.

"The truck caught up to the car because it was still traveling at a high rate of speed, and then struck the car on the driver's side," said APD Officer Destiny Silva.

Austin-Travis County EMS and Austin Fire responded to the scene. Medics performed CPR on the man driving the car for 40 minutes.

He later died at the hospital.

Police officials have identified Jorge Luis Lopez Dominguez, 20, as the driver of the truck. Detectives say he originally drove away but returned to the scene shortly after. He has been charged with Racing, as well as Crash Failure to Stop and Render Aid, both of which are 2nd degree felonies.

Edgar Sanchez lives near the intersection, and he says he was about to go to bed when the sound of the racing and crash ricocheted off the walls of his home, keeping him awake.

"It sounded pretty fast, sounded like it was going down the road. Pretty familiar noise when a car crashes," Sanchez said. "We tend to have car accidents in this area. I guess people like to speed up down the hill."

Sanchez and other neighbors say crashes are nothing new on this stretch of Bluff Springs Road.

Elsa Simental lives on the same street as Sanchez and remembers one incident years ago. "A guy speeding turning around this corner took out five cars and hit all five cars," Simental said.

Jenny Pennington's driveway goes right into the road, and she says she has had several close calls. "This is the post of what's left of my mailbox after someone hit it," Pennington said, holding up a broken off piece of wood. "I'm looking at the rear-view mirror behind me because there have been at least on a weekly basis people coming that close to hitting my car."

In 2019, there were five crashes in the immediate area around the intersection where Wednesday's crash took place.

Officer Silva says a crash like this needs to be a wakeup call for drivers here. "We want to remind the community to be alert, be safe, don't make reckless driving decisions that can possibly injure you, your loved ones, your passengers, or just nearby vehicles," Silva said.

In March 2018, the Travis County Sheriff's Office carried out an operation cracking down on street racers in the Wells Branch area.

CBS Austin reached out to Sheriff's Office officials, and they say the team behind that operation is still up and running, and they increase patrols in areas where there are reports of street racing.

With shattered glass still on the street serving as reminders of the deadly consequences of street racing, neighbors like Pennington hope drivers slow it down on Bluff Springs Road. "These are neighborhoods. It's not a freeway, it's not I-35," Pennington said.

Austin Police officials still have not released the name of the victim.