Trucker Behind Deadly I-35 Pileup Confronted at Scene of Crash - What Do You Notice?
Surveillance footage captured the intense moment when a bystander confronted the truck driver suspected of causing a devastating 17-vehicle crash that resulted in five fatalities in Austin, Texas, on Thursday night.
Around 11:30 p.m., truck driver Solomun Araya failed to stop his 18-wheeler on Interstate 35, colliding into vehicles halted in traffic ahead.
The impact involved 17 vehicles and led to the tragic deaths of three adults and two children.
Araya, 37, insisted he was not under the influence, and a breathalyzer test confirmed a Blood Alcohol Concentration of 0.00.
However, authorities noted he exhibited clear signs of impairment, including bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, and unsteady movements. He also did not pass a field sobriety test, as reported by KVUE-TV in Texas.
He is now facing five charges of Intoxication Manslaughter and two counts of Intoxication Assault.
A video shared on X by American Truckers showed a man confronting Araya at the scene shortly after the collision.
The individual, who identified himself as a truck driver, harshly criticized Araya for his alleged reckless behavior.
WARNING: The following video and post contain vulgar language that some readers may find offensive.
ATU has confirmed: the driver behind today’s horrific Austin, TX crash—killing 5 and injuring 11—barely spoke English. Experts say he was almost certainly on a Non-Domicile CDL. Special interest groups have flooded our roads with unvetted, unqualified, untrained drivers,… pic.twitter.com/uByIPPp5j3
— American Truckers (@atutruckers) March 15, 2025
“You know there’s two people dead over there? And possibly two more? Possibly four? They’re dead,” the man said to Araya, who was wearing flip-flops and spoke in broken English.
Araya appeared stunned and reached for his phone.
“Who are you calling? Brother, they’re finna lock your a** up. … That’s manslaughter, bro; they’re f****** dead,” the man continued.
At some point, Araya began walking away.
When law enforcement arrived, the bystander informed them that Araya appeared to be trying to flee. An officer then sprinted in his direction.
WARNING: The following video and post contain images and vulgar language that some readers may find offensive.
BREAKING: Massive accident in Austin Texas on i35 early this morning. I heard it was right around this carmax location pic.twitter.com/JnZIAkO742
— Bobby E (@BobbyEParody) March 14, 2025
Another video posted on X appeared to show the same man moving around the crash site, assisting where possible. At one moment, he grabbed a fire extinguisher from another truck driver’s cab.
The footage displayed cars overturned and crushed, with debris, including personal belongings like shoes, scattered across the area.
An Amazon Prime truck was visible at the accident site, but Fox 7 Austin reported that it remains unclear whether it belonged to Araya.
On Saturday afternoon, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) held a press conference to address the incident.
The NTSB confirmed much of the existing information regarding the crash but did not release any major new findings.
“Since we’re just beginning our investigation, we do not have a great deal of information to report. We don’t speculate or focus on liability or criminal intent. We focus on probable cause, why it happened, and how to prevent it from happening again,” stated NTSB Vice-Chairman Alvin Brown.