A driver struck a person riding an e-bike on Johnny Morris Road in East Austin and then drove away without stopping to help, according to the Austin Police Department. The crash happened Saturday, August 22, at 10:05 p.m. in the 8400 block of the road, and the victim was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
APD's Highway Enforcement Investigations Unit is now searching for the suspect vehicle, described as a dark-colored small SUV or truck with suspected damage to its right front end, under case number 26-2341460, as reported by KXAN Austin. Police say the vehicle left the scene without stopping to render aid to the injured rider. Anyone with information is asked to call 512-472-8477 or submit an anonymous tip through the Capital Area Crime Stoppers program, which is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for tips that lead to an arrest, per the Austin Police Department.
The station's report notes the video accompanying its coverage previously addressed e-bike safety in Austin back in May. Under Texas Transportation Code § 550.021, a driver who fails to stop and render aid after a crash causing non-serious injury can face up to five years in state prison or a year in county jail, along with fines up to $5,000, according to FindLaw. Those penalties can escalate to felony charges if injuries are later determined to be serious or fatal.
A Street Long Flagged As Unsafe
Johnny Morris Road carries an official designation from the city as a “substandard street,” meaning it is a publicly owned road under 24 feet wide that lacks basic safety infrastructure like curbs, gutters, sidewalks, and bike lanes, according to the City of Austin Data Hub. That gap in infrastructure often forces cyclists and pedestrians onto narrow or unpaved shoulders alongside passing traffic.
Austin voters approved the $460 million Proposition B Mobility Bond in November 2020, which set aside $53 million specifically to engineer and reconstruct Johnny Morris Road between Loyola Lane and FM 969, per KVUE. The planned project would add pedestrian walkways and bike facilities to the two-lane road, though it remains unclear from available records what stage that reconstruction has reached nearly six years after voters approved the funding.
This is not the first serious crash on the corridor. In May 2023, a 43-year-old pedestrian was struck and killed by two pickup trucks in the 7100 block of Johnny Morris Road, according to FOX 7 Austin. That crash is part of a broader history of severe traffic incidents on the road involving both pedestrians and bicyclists.
Micro-Mobility Deaths Climbed Even As Other Crashes Fell
Citywide, Austin recorded 99 traffic fatalities and 301 serious injuries in 2025. Pedestrian deaths dropped by nearly 23%, but fatalities among bicyclists, e-scooter riders, and motorists rose compared to 2024, according to the City of Austin. Citywide mobility audits also show that between 65% and 75% of all traffic fatalities consistently happen on high-speed arterial roads and state-controlled corridors rather than on local residential streets, a pattern that puts disproportionate risk on micro-mobility riders using those routes.
In May 2026, the Austin City Council passed a resolution directing the city manager to update city codes with clearer definitions, safety equipment rules, and enforcement protocols for electric micro-mobility vehicles and high-speed e-bikes. Council members cited growing confusion over how different devices are classified and how they should be ridden. Under Texas Transportation Code § 664.001, a legal electric bicycle must have fully operable pedals, a motor capped at 750 watts, and a maximum assisted speed of 28 mph; devices exceeding those limits are legally classified as mopeds or motorcycles. It is not known from available records whether the e-bike involved in the Johnny Morris Road crash met that legal definition, nor whether traffic cameras or neighborhood surveillance video have produced additional leads beyond the initial description of the suspect vehicle.
The Johnny Morris Road crash follows a string of similar hit-and-run cases involving Austin cyclists this year, including a fatal predawn crash on West 35th Street in July and a search for a driver who struck a cyclist on Congress Avenue in May. Anyone with information about the Johnny Morris Road crash is urged to contact investigators or submit a tip anonymously.
-4.webp?w=160&h=400&fit=crop&crop=edges)
