A 20-year-old man has died days after an early-morning crash on U.S. 290 in East Austin, a wreck that Austin police say is now counted as the city’s 27th fatal crash of 2026. Officers were called to the 7200 block of East Highway 290 westbound at about 5:29 a.m. Wednesday, where they found a single vehicle that had crashed. The driver, identified by police as Alex Benjamin Cuz Caal, was taken to a local hospital and later died, according to the Austin Police Department.
Crash and response
According to KXAN, APD said officers arrived on scene around 5:29 a.m., the driver was taken to a hospital, and he died several days after the wreck. The department is treating the collision as Austin’s 27th traffic death of the year. Police identified the driver as 20-year-old Alex Benjamin Cuz Caal and said investigators are still working to determine what led up to the crash.
US 290 safety and recent repairs
The wreck happened on a corridor that state engineers have already flagged for concern after a steady rise in crashes over the last several years. As outlined by TxDOT, crash counts along US 290 climbed from about 2,550 in 2019 to 2,830 in 2023, with speeding and poor lighting among the recurring contributing factors cited in the study.
TxDOT has also been working on repairs in the area near the I-35 and US 290 interchange. FOX 7 Austin reported that flyovers were closed in late April for joint and bearing repairs, work officials described as routine maintenance.
Investigation and next steps
APD told KXAN that investigators are asking anyone who saw the crash or who has dash-cam video from the area to contact the department’s Vehicular Homicide Unit. The agency has not said whether any charges are expected as the investigation continues.
