A fatal incident early Tuesday morning led to the complete closure of southbound lanes on Interstate Highway 35 near Braker Lane in Austin, as reported by Fox 7 Austin. The collision, which involved a vehicle and a pedestrian, occurred at approximately 3:35 a.m., and shut down all five lanes of traffic.
The Texas Department of Transportation indicated that the incident led to heavy traffic congestion with the blockage beginning at 3:43 a.m., and traffic being rerouted to Exit 243 at Braker Lane. Commuters were faced with substantial delays, with estimated travel times reaching upward of 35 minutes from SH-45 N to FM-734, by 8:44 a.m., this, according to TxDOT's latest update.
#ATXTrafficFatality LATE FINAL Auto-Pedestrian Incident at 11000blk N Ih 35 Sb (03:35). #ATCEMSMedics have obtained a deceased on scene pronouncement for an adult patient who was reportedly struck by a vehicle. No other information available. pic.twitter.com/vyI8MJXDz2
— ATCEMS (@ATCEMS) November 12, 2024
The Austin Travis County EMS, who were among the first responders, declared the pedestrian deceased at the scene. In a statement obtained by MySA, an Austin EMS spokesperson confirmed the unfortunate outcome, and a police investigation into the events leading up to the collision is currently underway.
At the time of reporting, details about the circumstances or the identity of the deceased were not released by officials. Fox 7 Austin noted that no other information is available at this moment, and efforts to contact the Austin Police Department and Austin Travis County EMS by MySA did not immediately yield additional comments.
