AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin Police Department seeks public help finding a suspect wanted in connection with a crash that killed a 66-year-old woman in June.
The suspect was identified as Casandra Barron-Manzanarez, 22, according to a news release from APD.
The crash happened around 9 p.m. on June 4 at the intersection of East Ben White Boulevard westbound and East Riverside Drive, according to APD.
It happened after the Texas Department of Public Safety tried to stop a vehicle “for a traffic violation.” The vehicle drove away, and “the trooper lost sight of the vehicle.” Shortly after that, the vehicle then “ran a red light and struck another vehicle traveling through the intersection,” police said.
“The second vehicle was then struck by a truck traveling behind it,” the release said.
APD identified the driver of the second vehicle as 66-year-old Lisa Gail Cooper, who was pronounced dead at a hospital.
“Initially, DPS personnel did not believe the suspect vehicle and the fleeing vehicle were the same, and contacted APD regarding the fatal crash,” police said.
After APD’s Vehicular Homicide Unit began its investigation, detectives “obtained search warrants for electronic data, which showed inconsistencies with statements made by the suspect driver.”
That is when investigators determined that Barron-Manzanarez was the one driving the vehicle that drove away from DPS at the time of the crash, according to APD.
Evading arrest is a felony offense, according to police, but due to the crash turning deadly, Barron-Manzanarez was classified as a murder charge.
Although a warrant was issued for Barron-Manzanarez, police said she has not been arrested yet.
This is now being investigated as Austin’s 42nd homicide of 2025, according to APD.
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