CNN
—
A driver plowed into a group outside a shelter that had been housing migrants in a Texas border town on Sunday, leaving seven people dead – including several immigrants – and others injured, authorities say.
Authorities in Brownsville, Texas say they got a call around 8:30 am CT about a Land Rover that hit multiple people who were 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.
The crash left seven dead and others injured, Martin Sandoval, a Brownsville police spokesperson, told CNN. Sandoval added that several migrants were among the dead and Border Patrol was working to confirm the identities of the victims. It’s unclear whether the crash was intentional.
CNN interviewed migrants staying at the center in December. At the time, the center’s director told CNN that migrants from all over the world were beginning to stay at the shelter and they were seeing an uptick in stays. The shelter is equipped to house and feed 200 people, according to its website.
Witnesses at the scene detained the driver until officers arrived, Sandoval said during a Sunday news conference. He said the driver of the vehicle received medical care and has been arrested on a reckless driving charge. “More than likely” there will be other charges added, Sandoval said.
Police have not released the name of the driver, but say it was a Hispanic man, Sandoval told CNN. Brownsville police are investigating with the help of Border Patrol, he added.
Sandoval 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. Police are checking the driver’s toxicology, Sandoval added.
The shelter has been housing immigrants while they wait for more permanent housing, he said.
Brownsville, Texas is located on the southern tip of Texas, just across the Rio Grande River. The town’s population is nearly 95% Hispanic or Latino, according to the 2022 census.
The crash 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.
Victor Maldonado, the director of the Ozanam Center, told CNN that about 20 to 25 migrants were sitting on the curb waiting for a bus across the street from the shelter. He said surveillance video captured the deadly wreck with footage showing a vehicle driving very quickly, crashing about 30 feet from where the migrants were sitting and then losing control.
Police took Maldonado’s copy of the surveillance video, he said.
The migrants were from Venezuela and had arrived at the shelter about two or three days ago, Maldonado said.
Maldonado said after the crash, he and a staff member at the shelter ran outside to find a very graphic scene, with body parts spread across the area.
“I’ve got a staff [member] who is in shock,” Maldonado said, adding that he, too, was in shock.
