An auto pedestrian accident led to one man's fatal beating.
KVUE News Margaret Morales holds up a photo of the victim, her brother.
Tuesday night a vehicle struck a child in the 900 block of Thompson Street in East Austin. Witnesses told police that several people began to assault the driver after the accident.
According to a press release, David Rivas Morales, a passenger in the vehicle, tried to stop the crowd from beating the driver. Police say several men attacked Morales, 40, when he tried to protect the driver.
Police arrived on the scene at 9:30, and Morales was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
"Right now, all we know for use is that he died from blunt force trauma," said Harold Piatt, commander, APD robbery homicide unit. "There were no firearms or cutting or edged weapons involved, so the presumption would be he was either struck with fists or kicked."
Courtesy David Rivas Morales
The accident happened near Rosewood and Pleasant Valley.
The child involved was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The driver left the area in his vehicle and is cooperating with police.
Family members say they couldn't imagine anyone doing anything like this.
"It's feels like a dream, because I can't imagine my brother being gone right now, I really can't," said Margaret Morales, victim's sister. "It's just so painful, because I never thought it would happen to someone in my family. I mean I see this everywhere and just can't believe my brother is gone. He's no longer here with us."
Detectives ask anyone who witnessed the incident or who may have information to call Crime Stoppers at 472-8477.
This is the 11th homicide in Austin this year.
A man who was trying to protect the driver of a vehicle that had hit a child pedestrian was killed by an angry crowd the evening of Wednesday, June 20, in Austin, Texas.

The man was identified today by Austin police as David Rivas Morales, age 40. The driver had just dropped Morales off at his sister's townhouse moments before.  Then while still in the parking lot, he allegedly bumped the toddler with the vehicle.  The child was not injured and was not taken to the hospital.  A group of 3 or 4 men confronted the driver and Morales came back to assist him.  The assailants then turned on Morales. Police indicated the driver, who had escaped the scene of the crime, was cooperating with the investigation.  Morales died at the hospital from injuries that included a cracked skull and brain hemorrhaging.

The neighborhood was crowded at the time with some 2,000 to 3,000 people who were participating in the annual Juneteenth celebration, which commemorates the day the emancipation of slaves was announced in Texas. It was not immediately known whether any of the attackers had been part of the celebration.

In a news conference on Wednesday, members of League of United Latin American Citizens called on the community not to assume the killing was racially motivated solely because Juneteenth celebrants are predominately African-American and the victim was Latino. Police officers stated that early reports were incorrect in implying thousands of potential witnesses, as investigations suggested only 10 to 15 people had been in the parking lot when the incident occurred and most of these were residents of apartments nearby.