Former Austin Mayor Involved in Traffic Fatality

Former Austin mayor Gus Garcia struck and killed a pedestrian with his car in an accident Sunday evening on North Lamar Boulevard.

Garcia, 73, was on his way to dinner with his son when a Hispanic man in his late 20s or early 30s stepped into the street about 6:45 pm in the middle of the 10400 block of North Lamar, near Sagebrush Drive south of Braker Lane. The pedestrian was struck by a Toyota sedan traveling northbound on Lamar, according to an Austin Police Department spokesman.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. His identity was not immediately released pending notification of his family.

The Statesman reached Garcia at his home by phone and confirmed that he was the driver.

Garcia told the Statesman that he stopped the car, went to the man and called 911. He later gave a blood sample to investigators to test for alcohol or drugs in his system. Police said that investigators don't believe that speed, alcohol, or drugs were factors in the accident.

Garcia served as mayor of Austin from 2001 to 2003. He was a member of the city council from 1991 to 2000.

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By Jeff Beckham in News on January 7, 2008 10:45 AM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

kenneth1

Agree with Lauratex & LoudMouth. Not to say it was Garcia's fault, or the victim's. No. Lamar is a very dangerous street for pedestrians.

LoudMouth

That is true. Even where there are crosswalks on Lamar, the walk lights on the cross streets aren't on long enough to let an able bodied person cross the street. Combine that with very few cross walks, poor lighting, and long waits on the walk sign and people are always running across North Lamar. Any motorist that's speeding or has his lights off after dark is probably more likely to hit someone than not.

lauratex

Poor Gus. He's really a nice man. Oh, and too bad we don't have better pedestrian facilities, especially in places like North Austin. North Lamar is a huge boulevards with long distances between crosswalks, or no crosswalks or sidewalks at all! If you're not in a car, you're screwed.