A student injured in a drunk driving crash outside the Raising Cane’s on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard during Halloween weekend filed a lawsuit after the incident left her with life‑threatening injuries, according to the plaintiff’s petition.
In the early morning of Oct. 31, 2025, informatics sophomore Srivaishnavi Vijay and four other students were hit and run over by a drunk driver who lost control of her vehicle, according to the petition, which attributed the information to the Austin Police Department. Sean Breen, Vijay’s attorney, said she suffered a brain injury and multiple orthopedic issues from the accident, meaning she will need to have multiple surgeries. She is seeking more than $1 million in damages.
The driver, Antonia Garcia-Rios, a communication and leadership senior, will officially be tried Feb. 18 on a charge of intoxicated assault with a vehicle, according to the Travis County court system.
Two other women, Paige Fonseca and Nancy Ramirez Casas, are also facing civil negligence charges in connection with the incident. According to the lawsuit, Casas owned the car, and Fonseca left the car to use the restroom at Raising Cane’s, which is when Garcia-Rios moved to the driver’s seat.
Vijay is also suing Raising Cane’s for negligence. Breen said Cane’s is largely at fault for the circumstances that led to the crash.
According to the lawsuit, Vijay was struck by Garcia-Rios because Cane’s employees instructed students waiting for food to stand in line outside, given the building was at full capacity. Since there were no poles on the sidewalk to protect pedestrians, Breen said this system would ultimately result in injury or serious harm.
Since her accident, Breen said Vijay has not been able to continue her education at UT due to the severity of her injuries.
“She’s incredibly brave and an incredible fighter,” Breen said.
Breen said he hopes Vijay’s story inspires other fast food restaurants to do more to protect their customers.
“If there is any silver lining to be found or good to come of this,” the trial’s petition reads, “(Vijay) and her family are hopeful that this lawsuit and the jury’s verdict will raise awareness of this issue and lead to action by the Cane’s defendants and similar companies to install the required safety bollards to protect people.”
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story misstated who was in the car at the time of the accident. The story has been updated to represent the accurate information here, along with additional attributions. The Texan regrets this error.
