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06-01-2009, 12:07 PM
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UT Student Dies After Fall from Taxi on I-35
Kyle police said Jeffrey Weng, 19, a University of Texas at Austin sophomore, died after going out the door of a taxi moving about 70 mph on Interstate 35 early on Feb. 14, 2009, and the man riding with him was never identified. Weng, a percussion student in UT's Butler School of Music, had spent the night at a concert on campus and a downtown party before getting into a cab outside a bar on Lavaca Street about 3:31 a.m. with an unidentified man, according to surveillance video reviewed by Kyle police. The man paid the driver $60 to take them to San Marcos, and Weng got in willingly. As the cab passed the Kyle Parkway exit, the driver told investigators he heard the back door open and heard Weng ask "Where are you taking me?" before going out of the vehicle. The driver said he first thought it was a joke and drove two more exits before realizing Weng was gone. When he turned around, a Hays County sheriff's deputy was already at the scene. A passing motorist called 911 at 4:02 a.m. after spotting what looked like a body near the road. Another driver, Joshua Van Alstine, stopped minutes later and found Weng breathing shallowly and unresponsive, with blood on his face. Paramedics took him to University Medical Center Brackenridge, where he died the following evening of severe head injuries. Travis County Medical Examiner David Dolinak's toxicology report found Weng's blood alcohol content was approximately .08 to .09 at the time of testing, with no other drugs in his system. The driver told police he did not believe Weng was pushed, saying Weng opened the door and went out on his own. Kyle police released a composite sketch of the second passenger, described as Hispanic and about 5-foot-8, and sent it to police in San Marcos and Austin and to the University of Texas Police Department. He was never located. Kyle police spokesman Jerry Hendrix said investigators had exhausted their leads. "We are at a loss of places to look at this point," he said. Weng, a Plano Senior High School graduate originally from Taiwan, was remembered by friends and family as a gifted musician who hoped to become a composer. His sister, Stephanie Weng, said the family never got the answers they had hoped for. "I was actually expecting the police to solve the case, but apparently they didn't," she said.
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