Two pedestrians killed on Austin roads last weekend push traffic death toll to 112, police say

Two pedestrians killed within a few hours of each other in separate incidents last weekend have become the 111th and 112th persons to die in Austin traffic this year.

Austin's traffic death toll this year has exceeded last year's 94 fatalities, which had been the highest number of deaths since 2015, when 102 people died.

The two deaths on Saturday occurred in the wee hours of the morning and involved pedestrians, which have accounted for more than 30 of the traffic deaths this year, according to police records.

In the first deadly incident, Austin police responded at 2:17 a.m. to reports of a pedestrian who had been struck by a vehicle in the 4500 block of Menchaca Road, just south of Ben White Boulevard.

More: 14-year-old pedestrian is 110th person to die in Austin traffic accident this year, police say

According to a preliminary police investigation, a driver in a Toyota Tacoma was heading north when they struck 61-year-old Timothy Christopher Eller, who was in the roadway.

Eller, who was only four days away from turning 62, was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:35 a.m. Police said the driver stayed at the scene and cooperated with the investigation.

About two hours later, at 4:48 a.m., police responded to another report of a pedestrian struck by a vehicle — this time in the 6100 block of Interstate 35 South near William Cannon Drive.

Police said a driver of a Ford Escape struck 36-year-old Marcus L Sierra in the southbound lanes. Sierra was pronounced dead at the scene at 5:05 a.m.

The driver in this incident also stayed at the scene and cooperated with the investigation.

More: With 3 months to go, 2021 shaping up to be record-breaking year for traffic deaths in Austin

Austin's death rate for fatal crashes this year, which is the ratio of deaths per 100,000 people, was up to 11.6 as of Wednesday.

The death rate for all of 2020, when 94 people died, was 9.77, and it was 9.15 for all of 2019, when the area had 88 fatalities.

Anyone with more information about these incidents can call Austin police investigators at 512-974-8111, or call Crime Stoppers at 512-472-8477. You can also submit tips via the Crime Stoppers app or Austin police’s mobile app, Austin PD.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: 2 pedestrians killed Saturday push Austin traffic death toll to 112