Houston man Alan Bryant Hayes punches and kills Taylor Swift fan on his way home from concert

News

By Allie Griffin

April 25, 2023 | 00:26

A suspected drunk driver struck and killed a Taylor Swift fan who was returning home from the star’s concert in Houston this weekend in a horrific hit-and-run accident.

Jacob Lewis, 20, and his sister were returning from Swift’s “Eras” tour at NRG Stadium when their car stalled on the Southwest Freeway early Saturday, according to Houston police and family members.

Lewis got out of the vehicle and was pushing it from behind while his brother sat behind the wheel when the 34-year-old driver, identified as Alan Bryant Hayes, rammed him and the car from behind, police said.

His sister, April Bancroft, told ABC 13 that she witnessed her brother’s violent death.

“I immediately ran to him and called 911,” she said. “And that was it.”

Lewis was pronounced dead at the scene, while Hayes – who has a history of drunk driving – fled the scene in the black Volkswagen Beetle, cops said.

A tow truck driver who witnessed the accident followed Hayes to the 4500 block of Caroline Street where he got out of his car and fled on foot.

He was later arrested by Houston police and taken to an area hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

Hayes was later charged with criminal driving while intoxicated (third offence) and failure to stop and rescue.

He was booked on a $90,000 bond.

Hayes was previously charged with DWI in 2014 and 2015, according to ABC 13.

Bancroft said she chooses to remember her final moments with her brother singing Swift songs rather than the horrific accident, the local outlet reported.

“Knowing that we had this experience as our last memory is something wonderful to remember, and I will forever,” she said.

In the wake of Lewis’s death, other Swift fans, known as “Swifties”, banded together to support her family – flooding a GoFundMe page set up for her funeral expenses with $13 donations. honor of Swift’s favorite number.

As of Monday night, the page had raised over $93,000.

The victim’s father, Steve Lewis, said his son, who enjoys singing and playing music, is scheduled to start his second year in the musical theater program at Sam Houston State University in the fall.

“Jacob will be remembered as a loving and faithful young man, loyal to his family and friends,” Steve Lewis said in a Facebook post. “His last act was to get his sister to safety in a dark street. There is no way to describe the magnitude of this loss and the void left in our hearts.