AUSTIN, Texas – A man charged in connection with a 17-vehicle crash on Interstate 35 that left five people dead and 11 others injured had his bond amounts significantly reduced on Tuesday, according to Travis County court records.
Solomun Weldekeal Araya was charged with five counts of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault in connection with the crash, records show.
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Court records indicate that Araya was initially held in the Travis County Jail on a $1.2 million bond. However, the bond amount for each charge was reduced to $1,000 on Tuesday.
CBS Austin reported in early April that Araya’s toxicology report after the crash revealed no alcohol or drugs in his system. As a result, Araya’s attorney filed a motion to lower his bond amount.
In addition to the lowered bond amount, records show that Araya ordered GPS tracking with no curfew and no exclusion zones, random urine analysis tests, pretrial services supervision, prevention from driving a commercial vehicle and an ignition interlock device installation.
BACKGROUND
The crash happened around 11:20 p.m. on March 13 in the 12900 block of southbound I-35 near Parmer Lane.
Cpt. Krista Stedman, public information officer for Austin Travis County EMS, told KVUE that authorities arrived at the scene to find a collision involving multiple vehicles and a semi-truck.
Stedman said multiple people were pinned in their vehicles.
One infant, one child and three adults were pronounced dead, Stedman said.
She said 11 people were hospitalized, including three children. One child suffered potentially life-threatening injuries, she said.
“This incident was incredibly chaotic and it was spread out over about a tenth of a mile,” she said.
Officer Austin Zarling, a public information officer with the Austin Police Department, said the cause of the crash is under investigation.
The Vehicular Homicide Unit is investigating the crash, he said.
