AUSTIN, Texas — A police chase resulted in a vehicle colliding with a train early Friday morning.
At 2:36 a.m. on Friday, May 12, the Austin Police Department (APD) began a chase with a "suspected drunk driver" in the downtown area. The chase began on Neches Street after officers were alerted to the driver pulling on door handles through cameras in the area.
Officers located the driver, later identified as 29-year-old David Earl Bedford, Jr., and instructed him to stop. Bedford did not listen to the commands from police and "sped off" in the eastbound direction on Seventh Street once inside the vehicle, according to police.
After Bedford sped off, APD continued to follow him until he collided with a moving freight train in the 2300 block of Seventh Street. Police said Bedford was "erratic[ally] driving" at a high rate of speed.
At 2:54 a.m., Austin-Travis County EMS tweeted that medics, along with firefighters from the Austin Fire Department, were on the scene as well.
Medics confirmed that Bedford was pinned-in and was the only occupant. As first responders began the extrication process, both directions of Seventh Street were closed.
Three minutes later, at 2:57 a.m., ATCEMS stated that Bedford was extricated from the vehicle and was declared a "trauma alert." He was later transported to a nearby hospital with critical injuries and he died several hours later, according to APD.
Witnesses told APD that they saw Bedford getting into the vehicle and attempted to stop them from driving. When asked if the vehicle was stolen, APD told KVUE that officers are investigating if that was the case but cannot confirm at this time.
Although the crash did not involve a Capital Metro train, the train was on the same tracks that the CapMetro trains use. CapMetro trains were expecting delays Friday morning due to the crash, according to a spokesperson.
"CapMetro is expecting rails delays this morning due to the overnight crash on CapMetro tracks," the spokesperson said. "Bus bridge will assist customers between MLK and Downtown stations. Thank you for your patience."
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.