A driver plowed into pedestrians standing at a bus stop outside a migrant shelter in South Texas on Sunday, killing at least eight people., in an incident that police are investigating as possibly intentional, authorities said. Another 10 were injured, according to Brownsville police.
Authorities identified the driver as George Alvarez, a 34-year-old Brownsville resident “with an extensive rap sheet,” at a news conference Monday. He faces numerous charges, including eight counts of involuntary manslaughter and 10 counts of assault with a deadly weapon. Alvarez is currently in Brownsville police custody, with bail set at $3.6 million.
As of Monday morning, investigators have determined that Alvarez, while driving a gray SUV, ran a red light, “lost control” of the vehicle and struck 18 people, according to Brownsville Police Chief , Felix Sauceda. Officers arrived at the scene to find six people dead and 12 others with critical injuries, he said. They also found the gray SUV, which was badly damaged, and the driver. Sauceda said Alvarez tried to flee the scene after the fatal crash, but was “pulled back” by a group of bystanders.
Police did not share detailed information about the victims, but Sauceda told reporters that all were men and “several” were originally from Venezuela.
The chief declined to answer reporters’ questions about a possible motive for the driver, adding that they have not yet determined whether the crash was intentional. He said witnesses suggesting Alvarez was cursing at the pedestrians he hit and “saying they were trespassers” were unconfirmed. A formal toxicology report is being conducted to clarify whether Alvarez was intoxicated at the time of the crash, Sauceda said.
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Brownsville Police Department spokesman Martin Sandoval previously told the CBS affiliate KRGV that officers received a call around 8:30 a.m. local time on Sunday reporting an incident that they later determined involved a Land Rover “running over several people” while they were waiting at the stop near the Ozanam center, a refuge for migrants. and homeless people in Brownsville, Texas. Witnesses said the driver ran a red light before pulling into the bus stop and overturning, Sandoval said.
Police found seven people already dead when they arrived at the scene, Sandoval said. Another person died Sunday night, police told CBS News.
At least some of the people who died were confirmed to be migrants, Sandoval said.
Officers arrested the driver of the Land Rover, who “was receiving medical attention” when Sandoval spoke to KRGTV Sunday afternoon, he said at the time.
According to Brownsville police, the suspect was uncooperative.
“But it’s more than likely there will be other charges later in the day,” Sandoval told the news station. “We’re also doing our due diligence, which means we’re really trying to see if he’s intoxicated or not. So we’re doing all those tests as well.”
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Myrna Arteaga, the manager of the Ozoman Center, called the incident “horrible.” He said the shelter receives about 80-120 migrants a day.
“It wasn’t an accident,” Arteaga said.
After the incident, several roads were closed.
The fatal incident is under investigation, but witnesses told police that “the car lost control” when it happened.
“Now if we know if it was an accident or intentional, that’s still under investigation,” Sandoval said. The spokesman noted that bystanders “began to assist some of the individuals who were there” and detained the driver himself while they waited for police to arrive on the scene.
Brownsville police shared few details in their latest update on the crash, which Sandoval characterized as “a major accident” in a video message shared with the department. Facebook page
“We’ve got all the roads closed so we’re asking people to please find alternative routes,” he said. “Like I said…at 8:30am, we got a call about an accident. That’s all the information we have right now. But we’ll have more information if you keep following us. here on this channel.
