BROWNSVILLE, Texas (KVEO) - Seven people were killed Sunday morning after a driver ran over them in Brownsville, Texas. The collision does not appear to have been accidental, police said.
The victims were at a bus stop in front of the Ozanam Center, a shelter for migrants and homeless people in the Texas border city, at 8:30 a.m. when they were hit.
Shelter director Victor Maldonado said he reviewed the shelter’s surveillance video on Sunday morning after receiving a call about the crash.
The city bus stop is across the street from the shelter and is not marked. There was no bench, and people waiting there were sitting along the curb, Maldonado said. He said most of the victims were Venezuelan men.
“What we see in the video is that this SUV, a Range Rover, just ran the light that was about a hundred feet away and just went through the people who were sitting there in the bus stop,” Maldonado said.
He said the SUV flipped after running up on the curb and continued moving for about 200 feet. Some people who were walking on the sidewalk about 30 feet away from the main group were also hit, Maldonado said.
Lt. Martin Sandoval said seven victims died at the scene and another four to six people were taken to area hospitals.
Sandoval said the driver was arrested and charged with reckless driving. The driver was also going to be tested for intoxication. Sandoval said more charges will likely be filed.
He told local news outlets investigators are working to determine whether the crash was intentional.
A woman who drove by the scene said she saw several bodies covered on the road, plus another victim being put into an ambulance. She also saw several people praying nearby.
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A badly damaged gray Range Rover is in the middle of the street. By Brian Svendsen/ValleyCentral -
A Brownsville Fire Department truck is at the scene of a deadly accident. By Brian Svendsen/ValleyCentral -
Brownsville Police blocked off an area near Minnesota Road and Austin Road. By Brownsville PD/Facebook -
A badly damaged gray Range Rover is in the middle of the street. By Brian Svendsen/ValleyCentral -
A badly damaged gray Range Rover is in the middle of the street. By Brian Svendsen/ValleyCentral -
Luis Herrera survived the crash, telling Nexstar's KVEO he and his friends were waiting to go to the airport when they were struck. He was hit on the right side of his body but a number of his friends were killed.
Police said the area would remain closed for several hours as the investigation continued. The Ozanam shelter is the only overnight shelter in the city of Brownsville and manages the release of thousands of migrants from federal custody. The shelter can hold 250, but many who arrive leave the same day. In the last several weeks, an uptick in border crossings prompted the city to declare an emergency as local, state and federal resources coordinated the enforcement and humanitarian response.
While the shelter offers migrants transportation during the week, they are also free to use the city’s public transportation.
Maldonado said the center had not received any threats before the crash, but they did afterwards.
“I've had a couple of people come by the gate and tell the security guard that the reason this happened was because of us,” Maldonado said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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