2 killed, 23 hurt as driver hits Texas festival crowd

A suspected drunk driver plowed into a crowd of festival-goers in the Texas state capital Austin early Thursday, killing two people and injuring 23, police said. The unidentified motorist, driving a small Toyota automobile "at a high rate of speed," was being pursued by police when he veered into a closed-off street and hit the revellers outside the Mohawk nightclub. "We have two individuals who have lost their lives," a man and a woman on a moped who were declared dead at the scene, Austin police chief Art Acevedo said. Twenty-three other people were injured, with five in critical condition. The incident cast a pall over the 10-day South by Southwest (SXSW) music, film and interactive festival that draws more than 30,000 registered participants to Austin every March. Acevedo said the driver -- apprehended after he was zapped with a Taser while trying to flee on foot -- would face two counts of capital murder and 23 counts of aggravated assault.