5 Dead, 11 Injured After Semi-truck Driver Allegedly Sped Into Stopped Traffic on I-35

According to the driver’s arrest affidavit, the driver of a semi-truck that smashed into practically halted traffic on Interstate 35 last week allegedly had narcotics in his system.

The driver was identified by the Austin Police Department as Solomun Weldekeal Araya, 37. In connection with the incident, he was charged with five counts of intoxication manslaughter in a vehicle and two counts of intoxication assault with a vehicle resulting in serious bodily injury.

KXAN has contacted the public defender who defended him during the magistrate process and will provide an update whenever we receive a response.

The March 13 incident on I-35 near Parmer and Howard Lane killed five individuals and injured 11 more. According to court documents, the incident involved 18 vehicles, including one box truck, two truck tractors, two semi-trailers, and 13 passenger automobiles.

The document states that witnesses informed authorities that “all traffic was nearly stopped when a yellow truck tractor towing a semi-trailer with an Amazon logo did not slow down and plowed through over a dozen vehicles.” After hitting the first car, it “continued for approximately 1/10 of a mile while striking additional vehicles stopped in traffic.”

One of the cars hit was a silver Volkswagen Sedan with four persons inside. The four people in the vehicle were two adults and two children. Police had previously identified one of the victims as an infant. The affidavit states that all of them were pronounced dead on the site. Officials have not yet identified anyone, according to court records.

Police described their car as an “unrecognizable crumpled mess.”

The incident also involved a green Chevrolet pickup truck with three individuals inside. The pickup’s left rear passenger was pronounced deceased at the spot. The person was only recognized as a 78-year-old woman. According to Araya’s affidavit, the truck’s driver suffered major injuries.

The big rig was “struck so hard the bed of the pickup truck was impacted into the passenger cabin, causing the rear seats to come in contact with the front seats nearly.”

The document also cited a motorist of a Toyota car who suffered major injuries. According to police, he needed to be evacuated from the vehicle.

The collision occurred in a construction zone. According to the arrest document, it happened near a point when three lanes merged into one in a “active work zone.”

An APD officer with the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement (CVE) section came to the incident to inspect the truck tractor driven by Araya. According to the affidavit, the inquiry revealed no “braking issues with the truck or trailer” and all braking components appeared to work. The inspection found “no vehicle defects that would have contributed to this collision.”

After the incident, several witnesses told officials that “one of the drivers was attempting to flee.” The witness pointed to Araya’s truck, where he was observed “hiding in the personal cabin area of the truck, peeking his head out from the curtains.” Araya was seized after an officer urged him to exit the pickup tractor.

Araya was held and subjected to field sobriety tests, a drug evaluation, and an examination. This all occurred at 2:15 a.m., more than two and a half hours after the incident. This phase of the inquiry led detectives to conclude he “was under the influence of Central Nervous System (CNS) depressants and was unable to operate a motor vehicle safely,” according to the affidavit.

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