It's been almost a week since suspected drunk driver, Rashad Charjuan Owens, 21, plowed through a crowd at the South By Southwest music and film festival in Austin, Texas. The incident left three dead and nearly two dozen injured. Now, Owens faces capital murder charges and several counts of aggravated assault with a vehicle.
In the wake of the horrific collision, two University of Texas at Austin students recount their experiences as victims with the Daily Texan, the school newspaper.
Greg Cerna, a 19-year-old UT sophomore, remembers little between walking to Red River Street and waking up in a hospital.
"On one hand I'm thankful I don't remember what exactly happened because if i did, it would be truly traumatic, and that's probably why my body forgot it," Cerna says in the video above. "But on the other hand, it's just so incredibly frustrating, because this experience will definitely have a significant impact on the rest of my life, and i'll never know for sure what happened."
Maria Belyaeva, also a sophomore at UT, was one of the first people hit, but says she too doesn't remember much after walking to Red River and crossing the street. Belyaeva suffered a sprained ankle, bruises and cuts, and has a larger cut stapled in the back of her head.
“I think he deserves a really harsh punishment,” Belyaeva told The Daily Texan, referring to Owens. “I know he was drunk, but that’s never really an excuse to be like ‘Oh, maybe I should go through this barricaded street through all of these people.’ He should accept the consequences of his actions, whatever they may be.”
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