On the night of June 6th, 2024, at 11:21 p.m., a horrific multi-vehicle crash took place on I-35 in Austin, Texas, that would go down in history as one of the most catastrophic in the state’s history. By the time the chaos had ended, 18 vehicles were involved, five people were dead (including two children), and eleven others were injured.
What made this tragedy even more bizarre was the demeanor of the driver responsible for the crash — a semi-truck driver who seemed unnervingly calm amid the devastation.
The Scene of the Crash: A Nightmare on I-35
The crash occurred in a construction zone near Cesar Chavez Street, where three lanes had merged into one. It was dark, and traffic was already moving slowly due to the bottleneck. However, witnesses say the 18-wheeler didn’t slow down at all. Instead, it kept barrelling forward, hitting car after car for nearly a tenth of a mile.
The Driver: Solomun Weldekeal Araya
The man behind the wheel was 37-year-old Solomun Weldekeal Araya. When officers arrived at the scene, they described him as drowsy and sluggish, with slow and deliberate movements. But what raised the most concern was just how calm Araya appeared, even in the face of such horrific destruction.
Despite the chaos and trauma around him, his heart rate and blood pressure were unusually low — far too low for someone who had just been involved in a devastating crash. This odd calmness set off major alarms with officers and investigators.
Araya’s Story: “The Brakes Failed”
When questioned, Araya claimed that his truck’s brakes had failed, leading to the crash. However, after a thorough mechanical inspection, it was clear that the brakes were working fine. This left investigators with more questions than answers.
Under the Influence: A Startling Discovery
To understand why Araya appeared so detached from the situation, Austin Police’s Impaired Driving Investigation Unit conducted field sobriety tests…