Driver arrested after 7, including migrants, killed in Brownsville, Texas
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Law enforcement officers on the scene after a car ran into pedestrians waiting at a bus stop near a homeless shelter in Brownsville, Texas, on May 7, 2023.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
Brownsville, Texas – At least seven pedestrians were killed and several others injured on Sunday when a sport utility vehicle (SUV) mowed down people near a homeless shelter that attends to migrants in Brownsville, Texas, police said.
The male driver was in custody, Lieutenant Martin Sandoval of the Brownsville Police Department said, adding that he was charged with reckless driving and could face additional charges.
Lt Sandoval said the victims in the morning crash were waiting at a bus stop near Ozanam Centre, a shelter for the homeless used by migrants. He said some migrants were among the dead.
“We are doing an investigation in forms of intoxication to see if he was intoxicated at the time of the accident,” said Sandoval on Fox News.
It was not clear if the driver had crashed into the group intentionally or lost control of the vehicle, Judge Eddie Trevino Jr of Cameron County was quoted as telling The New York Times.
There were no immediate details on how many people were injured or their condition.
A law enforcement officer investigating a damaged vehicle after it ran into pedestrians near Ozanam Centre in Brownsville, Texas, on May 7, 2023.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The city of Brownsville, on the border with Mexico, is one of the places expecting an influx of migrants when Covid-19-era restrictions under the Title 42 emergency order expire on Thursday.
A video circulating online purporting to show the crash shows a speeding SUV ploughing into a row of people sitting on the kerb.
A second video of the aftermath appears to show victims lying on the ground, some bloodied and writhing, while others lie motionless. Reuters was not able to independently verify the authenticity of the videos. Reuters
