Police in Austin, Texas arrested a suspect Friday following a 17-vehicle crash that left five people dead, including a child and an infant.
Solomun Araya, 37, is now facing five counts of Intoxication Manslaughter and two counts of Intoxication Assault following the massive pileup late Thursday night in the North Austin area. Police said Araya is being held at the Travis County Jail.
Austin-Travis County EMS previously said several people were “pinned in their vehicles” following the wreck, which involved a semi-truck and also left 12 people injured. A police spokesperson told Fox News Digital that Araya was driving the truck.
“5 patients (3 adults, 1 child, 1 infant) have been pronounced deceased on scene,” Austin-Travis County EMS wrote on X.
Of the 12 people who were injured, three of them were children, officials said.
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The cause of the crash was not immediately clear.
The NTSB, in coordination with the Austin Police Department, announced on Friday it had opened a safety investigation into the wreck.
“The investigation go team will include experts in highway, survival and vehicle factors; human performance; and motor carrier factors,” the NTSB posted on X.
NTSB Vice Chairman Alvin Brown will be spokesperson on scene.
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The portion of I-35 southbound where the crash happened appeared to be closed Friday.
“All lanes of N IH 35 SB are shut down and will be for several hours. Please avoid the area, expect delays, and find alternate routes,” the Austin Police Department wrote on X.
Austin-Travis County EMS Captain Christa Stedman told CBS Austin that “This incident was incredibly chaotic, and it was spread out over about a 10th of a mile.
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“So without the collaboration of our partners, we would not have been able to manage the scene as well as we did,” she added.
Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.
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