8 killed when driver plows into crowd outside Texas migrant shelter

Police Chief Felix Sauceda confirmed several of the victims in Sunday’s Brownsville crash that killed eight and injured others were from Venezuela.

“We have established contact with the Venezuelan officials and continue the work with them,” Sauceda said in a news conference Monday, adding that authorities have also reached out to other embassies.

A driver plowed into a group of people who were waiting at a bus stop Sunday outside the Bishop Enrique San Pedro Ozanam Center, a non-profit homeless shelter that has been helping house migrants in the border town. 

Victor Maldonado, the director of the Ozanam Center, previously told CNN earlier that the migrants in front of the shelter at the time of the crash were from Venezuela and had arrived at the shelter about two or three days ago.

A socioeconomic crisis fueled by President Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian government, worsened by the global pandemic and US sanctions, has led to a wave of Venezuelans fleeing the country.

When police arrived to the scene of the Brownsville crash where a man drove a vehicle into a group of people near a migrant shelter Sunday, they found multiple casualties and a vehicle with heavy damage, Police Chief Felix Sauceda said Monday.

“Officers also found a gray SUV with heavy damage and a driver on scene. Through the investigation, it was found that the SUV ran a red light, lost control and flipped on its side and struck a total of 18 individuals,” he said at a news conference.

“It was further found that there were six fatalities on the scene and 12 critically injured. And from then and now, the fatalities have grown to eight,” Sauceda added.

Here’s where the crash occurred:

Brownsville, Texas, Police Chief Felix Sauceda speaks during a press conference on May 8.

The suspect accused of killing eight people by driving a vehicle into a group near a Texas migrant shelter faces eight counts of manslaughter, Brownsville Police Chief Felix Sauceda said Monday.

The suspect, identified as Brownsville local George Alvarez, “had attempted to flee the scene after impact, but was held down by several individuals on scene,” Sauceda said.

“He has been formally charged and arraigned with eight counts of manslaughter, 10 counts of aggravated assault with deadly weapon,” Sauceda said.

Emergency personnel work the scene of a fatal crash in Brownsville, Texas, on May 7. 

The Venezuelan government is urging the United States to investigate the cause of a crash that left at least eight people dead near a shelter in Brownsville, Texas, that was housing Venezuelan migrants in order to rule out “xenophobia” and “hate” against the migrants, according to a news release from the country’s Foreign Ministry.   

“The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela expresses its deepest regret for the tragic event that occurred in the border city of Brownsville, Texas,” the release said.  

Venezuela said “xenophobia” and “hate” in the United States is a product of intolerance and violence which is “promoted by extremist sectors of US politics and society,” the statement said.  

What we know: A driver plowed into a group of people who were waiting at a bus stop Sunday outside the Bishop Enrique San Pedro Ozanam Center, a non-profit homeless shelter that has been helping house migrants in the border town. About 20 to 25 migrants were sitting on the curb when police received reports of the crash, according to Victor Maldonado, director of the Ozanam Center. The migrants were from Venezuela and had arrived at the shelter just days ago, Maldonado said. 

The crash outside the Brownsville migrant shelter happened just days before a Trump-era immigration restriction dubbed Title 42 is set to expire.

The pandemic-era policy allowed immigration agents to swiftly return migrants to their home countries. Officials have predicted a rise in immigration in coming weeks when the restrictions are lifted Thursday.

Martin Sandoval, a Brownsville police spokesperson, said authorities are still investigating whether the crash was intentional or accidental. He said witnesses described seeing the driver ignore a red light, drive up on a curb and run over a group of people waiting at the bus stop.

The shelter has been housing immigrants while they wait for more permanent housing, he said.

Brownsville is located on the southern tip of Texas, just across the Rio Grande River. The city’s population is nearly 95% Hispanic or Latino, according to the 2022 census.

Brownsville declared a state of emergency after receiving an influx of thousands of migrants, many from Venezuela, in the past several weeks, CNN previously reported.

Police are set to provide more information on the deadly crash at a news conference Monday.

Eight people were killed and close to a dozen were injured Sunday when a driver plowed into a group outside a shelter that had been housing migrants in a Texas border town. Authorities say it’s unclear whether the crash was intentional.

Martin Sandoval, a Brownsville police spokesperson, said several migrants were among the dead and Border Patrol is working to confirm the identities of the victims. The FBI is also assisting with the investigation.

Emergency personnel take away a damaged vehicle after a fatal collision in Brownsville, Texas, on May 7.

A driver plowed into a group outside a shelter that had been housing migrants in a Texas border town on Sunday, leaving eight people dead – including several immigrants – and close to a dozen injured, authorities say.

Read more about the crash here.

Editor’s Note: This story contains graphic descriptions of the crash’s aftermath.

As the death toll from the Texas crash rises to eight, witnesses are describing the horrifying moment a driver plowed into people Sunday near a shelter in Brownsville.

Several immigrants were among those killed when a Land Rover hit a group waiting at a bus stop across the street from the Bishop Enrique San Pedro Ozanam Center, a non-profit homeless shelter that has been helping house migrants in the border town, authorities said.

Police said they are still investigating the violent crash, which was captured on surveillance video. The footage shows a Range Rover driving at a very high rate of speed and hitting a curb about 30 feet from where the migrants were sitting before the driver appears to lose control, Maldonado told CNN Sunday.

The driver received medical care and was arrested on suspicion of reckless driving, according to Brownsville police spokesperson Martin Sandoval, adding that additional charges are likely.

The shelter director and a staff member ran out to the street to find a very graphic scene, with body parts spread across the area, Maldonado told CNN.

“I’ve got a staff (member) who is in shock,” Maldonado said, adding that he too was in shock.

Another witness described the vehicle overturning as it hit the crowd.

“I could hear the car hitting people and the thumping and I saw how the SUV rolled over when he hit them,” witness Jose Del Transito Rubio Armijo told KRGV in Spanish.

Witnesses have also described seeing the driver ignore a red light before driving up on a curb and running over people at the bus stop, according to Sandoval.

The FBI is assisting local police with the investigation and Border Patrol is working to confirm the identities of the victims, authorities said.