Rising death toll from wrong-way crashes
Man driving wrong way on I-35 kills motorcyclist, adding to string of recent Central Texas tragedies.
Wednesday’s fatal crash on I-35 in Round Rock is the latest in a string of deadly local wrecks involving wrong-way drivers.
A motorcyclist killed on Interstate 35 early Wednesday in Round Rock was the latest victim of several fatal, wrongway crashes on Central Texas roads.
The motorcyclist was traveling southbound near U.S. 79 about 4 a.m. before being confronted by a car heading the wrong way, north, in the same lane, Austin police said.
The motorcyclist, who police declined to identify pending family notification, died at the scene, authorities said.
The car’s driver, John Walker McClintock, 31, of San Marcos, faces a charge of intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle and was jailed after the crash, Williamson County Jail records show.
Police said McClintock likely didn’t see the officer traveling alongside him in the northbound lane, trying to stop him from driving in the wrong lane. McClintock collided with the motorcyclist and then a second vehicle.
No other injuries were reported.
The crash prompted the closure of all southbound lanes of I-35 near U.S. 79 for several hours, slowing morning commuters heading into Austin.
Central Texas has experienced a string of fatal, wrongway crashes in recent months.
Just this week, 29-year-old Emily Overbey died after driving the wrong way on U.S. 183 near MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1) around 1 a.m., officials said. On Monday, Overbey hit an oncoming SUV, and the driver — a man in his 20s — was taken to an area hospital with potentially serious injuries.
In September, Stephen Ryan Flores, 29, of Kyle, died after he got onto the Texas 130 toll road and started heading north in the southbound lane, DPS spokeswoman Robbie Barrera said.
A Travis County deputy tried to pull Flores over, using his car’s lights and siren. But law enforcement officers
aren’t allowed to drive in the wrong direction, so the officer followed along on the opposite side and was unsuccessful in stopping Flores.
Flores hit and killed another man, who was in an SUV with his 15-yearold son, Barrera said.
In August, a 23-yearold woman was leaving a birthday party when she got onto the wrong lane of I-35 and collided with a vehicle, killing the man inside, Austin police said.
The crash happened about 2:30 a.m. near the intersection of Airport Boulevard when two cars collided in the southbound lanes of the interstate, close to where the highway splits into the upper and lower decks.