Vehicle towed after crash
A Travis County grand jury has declined to indict an Austin police officer who shot at a woman in 2012 as she struck multiple pedestrians while trying to escape a crowd of people hitting and jumping on her car.
Officer Robert Krummel, then a three-year veteran of the department, was working with three other officers near the corner of San Jacinto Boulevard and Sixth Street at about 2:20 a.m. Oct. 20 of that year when they heard the sound of tires squealing and screaming, according to a statement the district attorney’s office issued Tuesday.
They saw Gwen Daniels driving west on Sixth Street and accelerat- ing rapidly through the crowd, knocking people down, according to the statement. They yelled commands for her to stop and one officer shined his flashlight at her to try to get her attention, but she continued driving in the direction of the officers and other pedestrians, the statement says.
“Fearing for his safety and the safety of others in the street, Officer Krummel fired four times at the vehicle, striking the windshield all four times but missing Daniels, who stopped shortly after being fired upon,” the statement says.
It was early Saturday morning and Sixth Street was closed to traffic, but Daniels, who worked at the bar Coyote Ugly, had legally parked her car there before the roadway was barricaded. As the bars closed, the street became even more congested with pedestrians, and as Daniels tried to pull out from her parking space she honked her horn to alert the crowd to clear a path, according to officials.
“Apparently agitated by Daniels’ horn, persons in the crowd began to strike at her car, and at least one person jumped on the hood and began stomping,” the statement from the district attorney’s office says. Fearing for her safety, Daniels accelerated through the crowd, hitting multiple people and forcing others to run for safety.
Two people struck by the car were treated for injuries that were not life-threatening.
Police initially took Daniels into custody and officials has said she could face aggravated assault charges, but several days after the incident the department announced charges wouldn’t be filed against her.
Starting Thursday, new parking regulations along Sixth Street between Red River and Brazos streets will go into effect, barring cars from parking there between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. Thursdays through Sundays.
The city has said the new restrictions are in response to the high number of visitors to Sixth Street, the number of intoxicated people there and the large number of people trying to drive through the crowded area on weekends.