Three more people killed on Austin roads since Friday, including a juvenile passenger in a suspected DWI crash on MoPac

Austin's roads have claimed at least three more lives since our Oct. 31 story, which reported 75 traffic deaths so far in 2026.

• Burleson Road, Friday night. Around 9:51 p.m. on Oct. 30, a vehicle hit a pedestrian in the 7400 block of Burleson Road in Southeast Austin. The man was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead on Oct. 31. The driver stayed at the scene and is cooperating, the Austin Police Department said. APD called it the city's 74th fatal crash of the year, with 76 people killed. On the same date in 2025, it said, there had been 81 fatal crashes and 85 deaths.
• I-35, early Sunday. Medics were called at 12:21 a.m. Nov. 1 to the 8000 block of southbound Interstate 35, where an adult pedestrian had been struck and was dead at the scene, CBS Austin reported.
• MoPac, Monday night. Around 9:44 p.m. Nov. 2, a speeding truck rear-ended a stopped truck in the 2100 block of northbound MoPac and then hit a traffic pole, CBS Austin reported. A juvenile passenger in the speeding truck died. The driver was arrested on a charge of intoxication manslaughter, the station reported. The other driver was hospitalized with injuries that were not life-threatening.

APD had not yet published releases with updated counts for the Sunday and Monday crashes when we wrote this. All three remain under investigation, and the MoPac charge is an allegation that has not been tested in court.

Two of three on state highways

I-35 and MoPac are state highways. The city's own 2025 safety report found that about 65% to 75% of Austin's traffic deaths happen on state-owned roads, which limits what the city can change on its own. We could not confirm whether this stretch of Burleson Road is a city or county road.

What our records add

Fewer officers on DWI duty. At a June 1 Public Safety Committee briefing, an APD presenter said the department had a sworn vacancy rate of about 19%, with 345 openings. The presenter said units that used to be staffed with officers, including the DWI unit, no longer have officer-rank positions, and that in August 2025 APD moved 70 officers back to patrol.

Grant money for impaired-driving enforcement. In December 2025 the council accepted a $28,000 Texas Department of Transportation grant for APD's impaired driving mobilization, with a city match of about $7,146. It passed 11-0 on consent.

Pedestrians. Pedestrian deaths fell from 39 in 2024 to 30 in 2025, according to the city's report. The city's Pedestrian Advisory Council met Monday night with an agenda item reviewing local pedestrian deaths since October; minutes are not yet posted.

Projects keep passing without dissent. The council approved a $1.43 million Rutland/Parkfield roundabout on Oct. 8, 11-0, and backed a federal Safe Streets grant application in May, 9-0. Council Member Zohaib "Zo" Qadri pointed to intersection improvements at an October Mobility Committee meeting as one reason the trend has improved.

What's next

• Nov. 5: Municipal Court Week includes a traffic safety event with a drunk-driving simulator at City Hall from 8 to 11:30 a.m., according to a memo from the court clerk.
• Darker evenings: Daylight saving time ended Sunday, so commutes now end in the dark, a known risk for people walking.
• Information: Anyone with information on a fatal crash can call APD's Vehicular Homicide Unit at 512-974-8111. APD posts each case on its traffic fatalities page.