Pedestrian Killed by Vehicle on I-35 Service Road in Austin, TX
Austin, TX — October 26, 2024, an unidentified pedestrian was struck and killed by a vehicle on the Interstate 35 service road in Austin.
According to authorities, the incident happened shortly before 11:20 p.m. when officers were dispatched to the 4500 block of the northbound I-35 service road. Preliminary investigation suggests only that a pedestrian was fatally struck by a vehicle in the area and the driver remained at the scene.
The investigation is ongoing. No further information is currently available.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
People don't always realize that pedestrian accidents like this are about more than just who had the right-of-way. Some just shrug and blame the pedestrian for being on foot where cars might appear, but the law looks at the broader circumstances of these crashes before reaching any conclusions.
Pedestrians may be at risk on a busy roadway, but that doesn't make them open season for drivers. If careful investigation found the driver was doing something that prevented them from reacting appropriately, they could be responsible for the collision whether or not they had the right-of-way. On the other hand, evidence could show the driver had no way to reasonably avoid the victim. Obviously it would be unfair to blame them for a collision they couldn't have prevented. There are also questions about visibility, distraction, speeding, and many other elements that need to be resolved.
In the end investigators might find there's a simple explanation for what happened, but I think most would agree that the sudden end of a life is more than enough reason to invest time and care in learning the whole story. The victim's loved ones deserve no less, so I hope someone will make sure they will have their questions answered.
*We appreciate your feedback and welcome anyone to comment on our blog entries, however all visitor blog comments must be approved by the site moderator prior to showing live on the site. By submitting a blog comment you acknowledge that your post may appear live on the site for any visitors to see, pending moderator approval. The operators of this site are not responsible for the accuracy or content of the comments made by site visitors. By submitting a comment, blog post, or email to this site you acknowledge that you may receive a response with regard to your questions or concerns. If you contact Grossman Law Offices using this online form, your message will not create an attorney-client relationship and will not necessarily be treated as privileged or confidential! You should not send sensitive or confidential information via the Internet. Since the Internet is not necessarily a secure environment, it is not possible to ensure that your message sent via the Internet might be kept secure and confidential. When you fill out a contact or comment form, send us an email directly, initiate a chat session or call us, you acknowledge we may use your contact information to communicate with you in the future for marketing purposes, but such marketing will always be done in an ethical way.