Man arrested after death of local chef in downtown hit-and-run
An Austin chef who worked at notable local restaurants has been identified as the victim of a deadly hit-and-run early Tuesday, police said. The driver is charged in connection with the death.
Cody Shelton, 26, was killed and another pedestrian was critically injured early Tuesday, when Tyrone Thompson, 23, allegedly struck them at the intersection of East Seventh and Red River streets around 1:10 a.m., police said in a news release.
Shelton had worked at several notable Austin restaurants as a cook, most recently at Arlo Grey in the Line hotel, according to his social media profile.
“Cody was kind, respectful, and worked incredibly hard. His passion for cooking and learning was evident by the way he approached his craft on a daily basis. Cody was a valued member of our Arlo Grey team, and he will be genuinely missed by all of us. My sincerest condolences and care go out to all that knew and loved him,” chef Kristen Kish said in a statement to the American-Statesman. Kish is a past winner and current host of the culinary competition show “Top Chef.”
Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services said Shelton died at the scene, and medics carried the other unidentified pedestrian to Dell Seton Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.
Thompson allegedly left the scene of the collision in his dark gray Mazda and continued traveling east on East Seventh Street after the crash, police said.
Thompson then collided with another vehicle Tuesday morning, but police didn’t say exactly where and when that happened.
Thompson faces five charges, including accident involving death, in connection with the hitand-run, as well as another traffic collision in Travis County, according to jail records. He is being held on a cumulative bail of $143,000 at the Travis County Jail.
The incident took place in the Red River entertainment district, which has been hosting events in affiliation with South by Southwest. It was not immediately clear whether Shelton and the unnamed pedestrian had been attending a SXSW event. In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, SXSW said it was “deeply saddened to hear of the passing of an individual in downtown Austin following an auto-pedestrian accident.”
SXSW has not returned requests for comment about the safety measures undertaken by the festival.
Shelton’s family is raising money to pay for his funeral, which is to be held in the Fort Worth area.
Staff writer Matthew Odam contributed reporting.