APD Details Deadly South Lamar Crash

A South Lamar crash that first looked like another overnight road closure turned into one of Austin’s deadlier traffic cases this year. A 2-year-old girl, Abbi Sofia Romero Aular, died after a two-vehicle wreck on May 3, and Austin police have now identified the driver they say caused it. The big shift is that this is no longer just a fatality investigation. It is also a criminal DUI case, with intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault charges now filed. ### Where did this happen? The crash happened in the 2700 block of South Lamar Boulevard, near Menchaca Road, in South Austin. Police say officers were called at about 9:54 p.m. on Sunday, May 3, and the road stayed shut down for hours while investigators worked the scene. It reopened just before 3 a.m. Monday. ### Who was killed? (austintexas.gov) APD identified the child who died as Abbi Sofia Romero Aular, born March 24, 2024. She was riding in the SUV involved in the crash. Police say two passengers from that SUV were taken to a hospital with serious injuries, and Abbi later died there. Early coverage described a pediatric patient in critical condition before police released her identity. ### Who was arrested? Police identified the pickup driver as 30-year-old Keegan Shirley. APD says Shirley was arrested and booked on two felony charges — intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle and intoxication assault with a vehicle causing serious bodily injury. That matters because it tells you investigators are not treating impairment as an open question anymore. They have moved to a charging decision. (austintexas.gov) ### What do police say happened? The public details are still pretty thin. APD’s release says the collision involved a pickup truck and an SUV, but it does not lay out a full turn-by-turn sequence, speed estimate, or lane movement yet. That usually means crash reconstruction is still underway and police are holding back the finer-grained timeline until they lock it down. That last part is an inference from the limited release, not a stated APD explanation. (austintexas.gov) ### How many people were hurt? At least three people were hurt badly enough to draw medical attention that night. Two adults were taken to St. David’s South Austin Medical Center — one with serious injuries and one with minor injuries — and the child was taken to Dell Children’s Medical Center in critical condition. A fourth person was evaluated at the scene and not transported. (austintexas.gov) ### Why does the crash count matter? APD says this is Austin’s 28th fatal crash of 2026 and the 30th traffic death of the year. That gives the case a wider backdrop. It is not just one awful night on South Lamar. It is part of a running citywide toll that police track crash by crash, corridor by corridor. ### What happens next? (cbsaustin.com) The investigation is still active, and APD is asking anyone with information to contact its Vehicular Homicide unit at 512-974-8111. Anonymous tips can also go through Capital Area Crime Stoppers. The next meaningful update will probably be either a probable-cause filing with more detail or a later APD release that fills in the mechanics of the collision. (austintexas.gov) ### Bottom line Basically, the news here is not just that a crash happened. It is that Austin police now say a 2-year-old died, they have named her, and they have arrested a driver on intoxication-related felony charges. That turns a tragic South Lamar collision into a case with legal consequences — and one more entry in Austin’s rising 2026 fatal-crash count. (austintexas.gov)