Families of the SXSW crash victims are now suing the organisers of the event.
Four people died when wannabe rapper Rashad Charjuan Owens drove his car into SXSW festival goers along a crowded Austin street back in March 2014.
The family of Dutch music executive Steven Craenmehr, who was killed in the incident, commenced a lawsuit against SXSW in mid-December claiming the organisers of the event did not take the appropriate precautions to protect people at the event.
Just before Christmas, the family of 18-year old De’Andre Tatum, also killed in the incident, filed a $1,000,000 lawsuit against SXSW.
Results of an investigation after the tragedy released in September found that Austin was facing a “critical point where public safety could be compromised” based on alcohol consumption and overcrowding of venues.
SXSW attracted over 350,000 people to downtown Austin in 2014.
Rashad Owens ploughed into the victims along Red River Street in the early hours of March 13. Jamie West, 27, and Steven Craenmehr, 35, died at the scene. Deandre Tatum, 18, and Sandy Le, 26, died later in hospital.
Police arrested Owens after the crash. He was charged with capital murder, four counts of felony murder, and 24 counts of aggravated assault. It could take until late 2015 before the case goes to trial.
SXSW is at from March 13-22 in Austin, Texas.
SXSW 2015 dates are:
March 13-17, Interactive
March 13-21, Film
March 17-22, Music
——————————————————————————————————————————————
Never miss a story! Get your free Noise11.com daily music news email alert. Subscribe to the Noise11 Music Newsletter here
Listen to the Noise11 Music News channel now at iHeartRadio
Follow Noise11.com on Facebook and Twitter
