Austin news

• One arrested during campus protest of UT professor

  13-02-2018 23:47 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A woman was arrested Tuesday during a protest on the University of Texas at Austin campus aimed at a professor who pleaded guilty to a 2016 domestic assault charge.
  The university said the woman, who was not a student, was arrested because of a previous criminal trespass warning issued to her.
  Students held signs that read, “UT harbors abusers” and “Fire Richard Morrisett” on the steps in front of the UT Tower.
  Richard Morrisett (University of Texas
  
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• Lake Travis ISD breaks ground on new middle school on SH 71

  13-02-2018 23:28 via kxan.com
  TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — As the Lake Travis Independent School District breaks ground on a new middle school on State Highway 71 just west of the Bee Cave area, many are wondering how the already-congested highway will deal with parents pulling in and out to pick up children at school.
  Superintendent Brad Lancaster says the district has been working with the Texas Department of Transportation to figure out the best way to avoid adding to the traffic issues, however, he says it’s
  
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• Man charged with murder after woman found stabbed in Lockhart home

  13-02-2018 23:02 via kxan.com
  LOCKHART, Texas (KXAN) — A 52-year-old man has been charged with murder after a woman was found stabbed in the bedroom of her Lockhart home, just off of US 183.
  Lockhart police were called around 10:27 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 10 to the 800 block of North Commerce Street for a welfare check on a woman at her house.
  When no one answered the door, officers forced their way inside and found Ruperto Gonzalez coming out of the bedroom. Police then found a woman stabbed in the bedroom of the home.
  E
  
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• VIDEO: Climbers being rescued from Mount Hood

  13-02-2018 22:06 via kxan.com
  PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Search and rescue crews are responding to help a man who fell at the Hogsback area on Mt. Hood on Tuesday morning.
  The man reportedly fell between 700-1,000 feet near the main chutes of the upper crater. The 7 other climbers remained in the area and seem to be in OK condition.
  According to Clackamas County officials, the climber is a man and is believed to be in his 30s. His condition is unknown, but according to officials, ot
  
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• VIDEO: Climber dies after fall on Mount Hood, others stranded

  13-02-2018 22:06 via kxan.com
  PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A climber who fell between 700 to 1,000 feet on Mount Hood and was airlifted to a hospital died while other climbers remain stranded in the treacherous conditions.
  Emergency crews responded to separate incidents at the Hogsback area Tuesday to help 2 injured people, however, the male climber was pronounced dead once he arrived at the hospital, according to officials.
  At least 7 other climbers are still stranded. But late Tuesday afternoon re
  
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• LIVE: Climbers being rescued from Mount Hood

  13-02-2018 22:06 via kxan.com
  PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Search and rescue crews are responding to help a man who fell at the Hogsback area on Mt. Hood on Tuesday morning.
  The man reportedly fell between 700-1,000 feet near the main chutes of the upper crater. The 7 other climbers remained in the area and seem to be in OK condition.
  According to Clackamas County officials, the climber is a man and is believed to be in his 30s. His condition is unknown, but according to officials, o
  
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• Police: Teen girls tricking drivers into giving them rides, then stealing car

  13-02-2018 20:45 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin police are searching for two teens who allegedly ask for rides and then steal victims’ cars.
  More than a dozen cases since the beginning of the year detail the scam. Teenage Hispanic girls go out in pairs or alone and ask for rides to nearby locations, then trick the drivers into getting out of their cars before stealing them, according to the Austin Police Department Auto Theft Unit.
  Many of the victims have been men who speak Spanish, according to APD. It is
  
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• Whole Foods 365 to join growing mixed-use development at Plaza Saltillo

  13-02-2018 20:36 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Whole Foods announced Tuesday their plans to open a Whole Foods 365 store at Plaza Saltillo, a large mixed-use development on Capital Metro-owned land just east of the downtown Austin. The Austin-based grocery giant signed a lease for the new store which will take up 30,000 square feet in the 10-acre Plaza Saltillo development.
  This store, the third Whole Foods 365 in Texas, will be located on the first block of the project near Interstate 35 along East Fifth Street, a spok
  
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• What to watch on the Olympics tonight: Shaun White, Mikaela Shiffrin go for gold

  13-02-2018 20:02 via kxan.com
  The 2018 Winter Olympic Games continue tonight with a full schedule of events in PyeongChang.
  Shaun White and Mikaela Shiffrin will go for gold in the men’s snowboarding halfpipe and women’s slalom, respectively, while the figure skating pairs short program begins.
  Adding to the drama — if either White or Shiffrin wins gold, they’ll be capturing the 100th all-time Winter Olympic gold medal for the United States.
  The men’s and women’s curling tournaments are al
  
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• Austinites must work 64 hours to pay a month’s rent

  13-02-2018 19:45 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The average Austinite must work more than a normal work week in order to cover just a month of rent, according to a study examining housing costs in big cities.
  With an average hourly wage of $18.64 (with taxes accounted for) and the median price of rent at $1,194 in Austin, SmartAsset calculated it would take about 64 hours for those living in Austin to make enough to cover their housing bills. Obviously, if people make more or less or if rent is less or greater, then thos
  
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• Trump administration proposes plan to deliver food to low-income households

  13-02-2018 19:19 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (KXAN/CNBC) — A proposal to overhaul how food stamps are distributed in America involves packaged food deliveries.
  According to CNBC, the Trump administration is proposing replacing a portion of the federal food stamp program with actual boxes of food delivered to recipients’ front doors. By controlling what is sent to homes, the U.S. government would directly be in charge of what households are eating.
  The boxes would replace about half of the current program’s cash
  
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• For 39 years, a man brings the same box filled with chocolate to his Valentine

  13-02-2018 19:07 via kxan.com
  ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (ABC/WTNH) — Ron Kramer has been refilling the same candy box with dark chocolates for his wife, Donna, since 1979.
  When Ron and Donna began dating, Ron told KOAT that he asked Donna if she would like some chocolates for Valentine’s Day. Donna replied that she liked dark chocolate cremes from Buffet’s Candy Store. They didn’t know it at the time, but that answer triggered a Valentine’s Day tradition that is approaching four deca
  
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• Oregon woman pulls more than a dozen small worms from her eye

  13-02-2018 18:42 via kxan.com
  PORTLAND, Ore (KXAN) — A Portland woman who found a tiny worm inside her eye discovered she was the first human infected with Thelazia gulosa, an eye worm found mostly in cattle in parts of North America, according to a report by the Portland Tribune. 
  Abby Beckley pulled the wiggly worm from her left eye in August of 2016. The 26-year-old was working as summer deckhand on a commercial fishing boat near Prince of Wales Island in Alaska at the time.
  The Portland Tribune reports in
  
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• Drought hitting Ruidoso’s ski season hard

  13-02-2018 18:31 via kxan.com
  RUIDOSO, N.M. (AP) – A New Mexico mountain hamlet known of its ski resort is struggling amid little snow and drought this winter.
  KVIA-TV in El Paso, Texas reports Ski Apache on Sierra Blanca Mountain in Ruidoso, New Mexico has only recorded 24 inches (61 centimeters) of snow.
  Ski Apache director of operations Justin Rowland says the mountain resort saw more than 300 inches (760 centimeters) of snow during the 2010 season.
  Alto Ski Shop owner Jodee Damron says business has been down about
  
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• PHOTO: Chloe Kim takes the gold in 2018

  13-02-2018 18:05 via kxan.com
  The 17-year-old lived up to all the hype in her Olympic debut and won the gold medal in halfpipe with a score of 98.25. Kim was the last to ride in the first run, and, despite the wait, was able to take all the pressure off herself.
  If you want to relive her win, watch it here.  PHOTO: Chloe Kim takes the gold in 2018Gold medalist Chloe Kim of the United States celebrates during the victory ceremony for the Snowboard Ladies' Halfpipe Final on day four of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic
  
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• Dripping Springs ISD puts $132M bond on May ballot

  13-02-2018 17:40 via kxan.com
  DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas (KXAN) — Dripping Springs residents will have to make a decision in the May election on whether or not they want to pass a $132 million bond for the school district in the area.
  The Dripping Springs Independent School District Board of Trustees voted on Monday to put the bond on the May ballot. The bond package includes funding to expand the high school as well as adding a fifth elementary school. The district also wants to build a new Walnut Springs Elementary adja
  
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• Air bag danger: Ford, Mazda add pickups to do-not-drive list

  13-02-2018 17:33 via kxan.com
  DETROIT (AP) — Ford and Mazda are adding more than 35,000 pickup trucks in North America to a list of vehicles that should not be driven because they have Takata air bag inflators with a high risk of exploding.
  The warning includes 33,428 Ranger and 1,955 Mazda B-Series small pickups from 2006 model year, according to both companies. Ford, which made the B-Series for Mazda, found test results showing that the trucks had inflators that ruptured or recorded high internal pressure readings, s
  
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• OxyContin maker will stop promoting opioids to doctors

  13-02-2018 16:40 via kxan.com
  NEW YORK (AP) — The maker of the powerful painkiller OxyContin said it will stop marketing opioid drugs to doctors, bowing to a key demand of lawsuits that blame the company for helping trigger the current drug abuse epidemic.
  OxyContin has long been the world’s top-selling opioid painkiller, bringing in billions in sales for privately-held Purdue, which also sells a newer and longer-lasting opioid drug called Hysingla.
  The company announced its surprise reversal on Saturday. Purdue&
  
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• Powerball winner who demands anonymity to get money

  13-02-2018 16:36 via kxan.com
  NASHUA, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire woman who won a $559.7 million Powerball jackpot is likely to get the money soon as her demand to remain anonymous makes its way through the courts.
  Judge Charles Temple heard arguments Tuesday from lawyers for the woman and the state. He didn’t indicate when he would rule.
  The woman, identified as Jane Doe, is asking the judge to allow her to remain anonymous despite signing the ticket following the Jan. 6 drawing. She later learned that she could
  
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• Judge to hear case of Powerball winner who wants anonymity

  13-02-2018 16:36 via kxan.com
  NASHUA, N.H. (AP) — Lawyers for a New Hampshire woman who won a $559.7 million Powerball jackpot are appearing before a judge to request that she remain anonymous.
  The woman, identified as Jane Doe, filed a complaint in Hillsborough Superior Court in Nashua saying she signed the back of the ticket following the Jan. 6 drawing, the nation’s eighth-largest lottery jackpot.
  Under New Hampshire law, a lottery winner’s name, town and prize amount are public information. But after th
  
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• Broken pipe shoots water 23 feet in the air, shuts down south Austin road

  13-02-2018 15:24 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A broken pipe spewed water 23 feet into the air in south Austin Tuesday morning, just 50 feet from a nearby home.
  Austin police describe a huge hole in the roadway that forced them to shut down the area near the 2100 block of Barton Parkway in both directions at Homedale Drive. The area is a few blocks away from Barton Hills Elementary School. Austin Water has crews working to shut down valves and minimize the water loss. They will then work to determine what caused the 16-
  
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• Broken pipe shoots water 23 feet in the air in south Austin

  13-02-2018 15:24 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A broken pipe spewed water 23 feet into the air in south Austin Tuesday morning, just 50 feet from a nearby home.
  Austin police describe a huge hole in the roadway that forced them to shut down the area near the 2100 block of Barton Parkway in both directions at Homedale Drive. The area is a few blocks away from Barton Hills Elementary School.
  The water pipe broke around 7:30 a.m. Austin Water crews were able to repair the 6-inch water main and restore service to the area b
  
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• Texas second grade teacher died from flu after cost delayed treatment

  13-02-2018 15:09 via kxan.com
  WILLOW PARK, Texas (WCMH) — A second-grade teacher from Texas died from complications of the flu less than a week after being diagnosed. Heather Holland, 38, died on Feb. 4 from complications related to the flu, NBC DFW reported.
  “She was a wonderful person,” her husband, Frank Holland said.
  Frank Holland said she started feeling ill and went to the doctor on Jan. 31. She was diagnosed with the flu and was prescribed Tamiflu, NBC DFW reported.
  The Weatherford Democrat
  
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• Bastrop makes the top 5 in competition to win $500,000 and reality show spot

  13-02-2018 14:50 via kxan.com
  BASTROP, Texas (KXAN) — Bastrop is one step closer to winning half a million dollars to revitalize small business.
  It’s the only Texas city to make it into the top five of the competition that also lands it a spot on the “Small Business Revolution: Main Street” reality show. It’s also the smallest.
  “Bastrop is a town of 8,500. To win, we need more than one million votes,” Mayor Connie Shroeder said. “We have been humbled by the far-reaching support
  
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• Ohio nurse fired after she calls out sick with the flu

  13-02-2018 13:16 via kxan.com
  RICHMOND HEIGHTS, Ohio (KRON/CNN) — A nurse in Ohio is now out of a job after deciding she was too sick to work. She says the hospital she worked for fired her after she got the flu and had to call out sick.
  Just after Christmas Theresa Puckett was hardly a picture of good health.
  She called out sick once at the end of 2017, and when she came back, a superior sent her home early because she was still fighting off the flu.
  “I was putting in my cough drops, I was drinking my water, I w
  
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• Bastrop pastor plans to expand mini-shelters on his property

  13-02-2018 12:37 via kxan.com
  BASTROP, Texas (KXAN) — A central Texas pastor is expanding his mission to house homeless families, doubling the number of small, single-family shelters on his property where he operates a soup kitchen. Pastor Roland Nava converts sheds into fully-furnished one-room living spaces for families of five or more.
  One of the families is now able to look for a rental property while they search for a house to buy. Jeff Randle’s family of four has been staying at one of the shelters for a fe
  
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• Bastrop pastor expanding single-family homeless shelter plans

  13-02-2018 12:37 via kxan.com
  BASTROP, Texas (KXAN) — A central Texas pastor is expanding his mission to house homeless families, doubling the number of small, single-family shelters on his property where he operates a soup kitchen.
  After KXAN aired a story about Pastor Roland Nava’s efforts in January, three more groups decided to sponsor the shelters, which Nava converts from sheds into fully-furnished one-room living spaces for families of five or more.
  He plans to have those three new shelters in use by the s
  
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• New plan hopes to end homelessness in Austin

  13-02-2018 12:24 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – Austin is home to more than 2,000 people who are considered homeless. During the 2017 homeless count conducted by 500 volunteers, the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition reports it found 2,036 were homeless. That number has remained the same over the past 10 years.
  That’s why in February 2017, the Austin City Council tasked ECHO with conducting a year-long study to determine what needs to be done to end homelessness in the city. Fifty organization and those e
  
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• City: Enough homeless services, but too many people

  13-02-2018 12:24 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – Austin is home to more than 2,000 people who are considered homeless. During the 2017 homeless count conducted by 500 volunteers, the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition reports it found 2,036 were homeless. That number has remained the same over the past 10 years.
  That’s why in February 2017, the Austin City Council tasked ECHO with conducting a year-long study to determine what needs to be done to end homelessness in the city. Fifty organization and those e
  
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• What you missed in PyeongChang last night: Chloe Kim, Shaun White thrill in halfpipe

  13-02-2018 12:22 via kxan.com
  Primetime Spotlight
  All eyes turned to Chloe Kim in the halfpipe final. The 17-year-old had to manage huge expectations as the clear gold-medal favorite. Maddie Mastro, Arielle Gold and five-time Olympian Kelly Clark were all hoping to make it a U.S. sweep in the event. More on the outcome of the event below.
  The Alpine combined event featured Marcel Hischer of Austria and American Ted Ligety. Hischer finally won an elusive Olympic gold medal. Ligety finished fifth overall.
  Chloe Kim delivers li
  
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• Longhorns drop double overtime game to Baylor

  13-02-2018 06:34 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Jo Lual-Acuil Jr.’s follow-up dunk with 8 seconds left in double overtime sent Baylor to a 74-73 win over Texas on Monday night, the fourth straight victory for the resurgent Bears after a miserable start to the Big 12 season.
  Texas had taken the lead on Kerwin Roach II’s twisting layup with 20 seconds left. Baylor quickly went back up court as Manu Lecomte drove for the game winner. He missed, but Lual-Acuil came flying in to snag the rebound and slam home
  
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• ‘Little hats, big hearts’: Central Texas newborns get heart healthy resources

  13-02-2018 05:07 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — All babies born in a number of Central Texas hospitals this month will get a handmade knitted or crocheted red baby hat, along with heart health information and free resources for their parents.
  “To mark February as American Heart Month, we are raising awareness of congenital heart defects while also giving new parents the tools and knowledge to outfit their baby for a lifetime of heart health,” said Joel Rice, executive director of the American Heart Associatio
  
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• 26-year-old dies after being pinned by his truck against house

  13-02-2018 05:02 via kxan.com
  BERTRAM, Texas (KXAN) — In what is being described by the Bertram police chief as a “tragic freak accident,” a 26-year-old man died Saturday after being pinned by his truck against the porch of his home.
  Police Chief J.J. Wilson said Justin Battles was making dinner and playing music out of his truck around 10 p.m. at his home on Ranch Road 243 East when Battles went to go turn the music off in his truck and the vehicle jumped into gear.
  Chief Wilson says Battles tried to
  
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• PHOTOS: Women’s Ski Jumping Competition 2018

  13-02-2018 03:02 via kxan.com
  PHOTOS: South Korea Women’s Ski Jumping 2018Sara Takanashi of Japan makes a jump during the Ladies' Normal Hill Individual Ski Jumping (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images) Katharina Althaus of Germany makes a jump during the Ladies' Normal Hill Individual Ski Jumping (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images) Gold medalist Maren Lundby of Norway looks onduring the victory ceremony after the Ladies' Normal Hill Individual Ski Jumping Final (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) Bronze medalist
  
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• Puppies with a purpose help teach Texans about service animal laws

  13-02-2018 02:48 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Put a group of Texas lawyers in a room and they’ll tell you there are miles of gray area in laws pertaining to service animals.
  The session, hosted by the Austin Bar Association’s “Still Loving It” lawyers club, invited a pair of guide dogs in training — and their handlers — to help the group tackle misconceptions and complexities with the laws surrounding service animals and emotional support animals.
  First, the definitions. Lawyer Cindy
  
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• Beware: City of Austin warns about illegal parking boot scam

  13-02-2018 02:48 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — An illegal parking boot scam is possibly underway in east Austin, the city’s transportation department warned Monday.
  A vehicle parked on a public street was illegally booted by an unknown group or individual recently. The warning posted on the vehicle directed the vehicle’s owner to pay a fee by calling a phone number.
  If a car parked on a public street is booted and the warning does not direct the owner to contact the Austin Municipal Court, it’s likely
  
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• Suspected poacher mauled to death, eaten by lions

  13-02-2018 02:17 via kxan.com
  JOHANNESBURG (WCMH) – Police in South Africa believe that a man who was mauled and eaten by a pack of lions may have been a poacher.
  The man was found Friday in a private nature preserve outside Kruger National Park, Eyewitness News reported.
  The body was found half-eaten by the lions, Sowetan Live reported.
  The body was originally identified as a 47-year-old tractor driver, but authorities later said they don’t know the identity of the person who died. The tractor driver w
  
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• Trial date for teenager accused of killing UT student delayed

  13-02-2018 02:06 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Scheduling conflicts and the wait for DNA results has pushed the trial date for Meechaiel Criner back to late spring — at the earliest.
  On Monday, Criner, 19, who is charged with capital murder in the 2016 death of University of Texas student Haruka Weiser, appeared in court with his attorneys. His attorney Ariel Payan says the trial is being delayed at least until May because they’re still waiting on DNA results.
  Prosecutors have already said they will not
  
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• Abbott, Patrick throwing weight behind property tax reform in GOP primary

  13-02-2018 01:52 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The top two state officials are weighing in big during the Texas primary in the hopes of setting the agenda before the next legislative session in January 2019.
  The truth in Texas today is the real fight over state government happens in the Republican primary, with Tea Party Republicans battling it out with business Republicans.
  Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s campaign team has purchased more than $5 million in television ads and the latest one highlights the effort to reform
  
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• Boy crawls a quarter of a mile home after hit-and-run in northwest Austin

  13-02-2018 01:30 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A 10-year-old boy had to crawl a quarter of a mile home after getting struck by a hit-and-run driver in northwest Austin Friday afternoon.
  Heather Brady said when her son, Caden Walsh, showed up at the house, he had a big gash in his leg. Walsh says he was walking home on Hyemeadow Drive near Lake Creek Parkway when the driver jumped onto the sidewalk and struck him.
  The impact pushed Walsh into a tree and he became disoriented, and when he realized how much he was bleeding
  
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• Boy crawled a quarter of a mile home after being struck by hit-and-run driver

  13-02-2018 01:30 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A 10-year-old boy had to crawl a quarter of a mile home after getting struck by a hit-and-run driver in northwest Austin Friday afternoon.
  Heather Brady said when her son, Caden Walsh, showed up at the house, he had a big gash in his leg. Walsh says he was walking home on Hyemeadow Drive near Lake Creek Parkway when the driver jumped onto the sidewalk and struck him. All he remembers was that it was a dark-colored SUV.
  While Walsh didn’t suffer any broken bones, he ha
  
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• DPS trooper’s car crashes with school bus in east Austin

  13-02-2018 00:50 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper in a highway patrol car crashed with a school bus carrying 36 children and an SUV near the intersection of East Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Springdale Road.
  Officers were called to the crash at 4:43 p.m. Monday. Video sent to KXAN showed an Apple Bus Company school bus in the right lane of eastbound MLK in what appeared to be a head-on collision with the trooper.
  An Austin-Travis County EMS official said of the 36 childre
  
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• DPS trooper crashes with school bus, SUV in east Austin

  13-02-2018 00:50 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper in a highway patrol car crashed with a school bus carrying 38 KIPP Austin Public Schools students and an SUV near the intersection of East Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Springdale Road.
  Officers were called to the crash at 4:43 p.m. Monday. Video sent to KXAN showed an Apple Bus Company school bus in the right lane of eastbound MLK in a head-on collision with the trooper.
  DPS said their trooper was turning left from MLK ont
  
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