Man charged with manslaughter in Brownsville, Texas crash that killed 8
Police in Brownsville, Tex., on May 8 said that George Alvarez, the driver in a fatal attack with an SUV, attempted to flee the scene. (Video: AP)
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A Brownsville, Tex., resident was charged with eight counts of manslaughter Monday after his SUV slammed into a crowd of migrants, killing eight people and injuring 10 others. But police said they had not yet determined whether the act was intentional. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight George Alvarez, who police described as having a record that included prior charges of assault and driving while intoxicated, tried to flee the scene after the Sunday morning crash but was apprehended by witnesses, according to police and witnesses. Police Chief Felix Sauceda said in a news conference Monday that the department was awaiting results of formal toxicology tests. Alvarez is not cooperating, police said.
Sauceda said that although authorities did not have enough information to establish a motive yet, they have not “ruled out” that it was an intentional act. Along with the manslaughter counts, he said, Alvarez was charged with 10 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. His bond was set at $3.6 million, the chief said.
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“This was a very tragic incident,” the police chief said.
Saucedo said that “several” of the victims have been identified as Venezuelan nationals. Local officials have been in touch with Venezuelan authorities to coordinate reunification efforts and assistance for the victims, he said.
The driver’s criminal history includes two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a count of assault against an elderly or disabled person, four counts of assault causing bodily injury to a family member, and at least 11 other charges, according to court records. It was not immediately clear how many of the charges had resulted in convictions.
The crash occurred about 8:30 a.m. local time Sunday, when Alvarez’s vehicle ran a red light and smashed into a bus stop near a shelter for migrants and homeless residents. The victims were all male, the police chief said. At least 18 people were struck.
Victor Maldonado, director of the Ozanam Center near where the crash occurred, said the vehicle ran up the curb, flipped and continued moving for about 200 feet.
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Luis Herrera, a 33-year-old migrant from Venezuela, told The Post on Sunday that the driver had taunted the group, driving past them and yelling insults, before the crash.
He recalled the driver yelling: “You’re invading my property!”
Herrera said many of the victims already had bus tickets out of Brownsville, some to reunite with their families. He was among those struck, suffering a broken arm for which he was briefly hospitalized.
“He crossed the street and he hit the gas and he drove by my legs, and hurt my arm,” Herrera said in Spanish. “The others, he killed almost all of them.”
Brownsville has long been a center for migration across the U.S.-Mexico border. The Ozanam Center shelter is the only overnight shelter in the city.
Maldonado told reporters that the center had not received any threats before the crash, but did afterward.
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“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.
Sister Norma Pimentel, director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, said Monday that the tragedy has left the community — and migrants and witnesses at the Ozanam Center in particular — “in shock.”
“It’s a tragic loss of life, and we have witnessed the pain in everybody; it was horrible,” she said.
Pimentel said four men who were sitting on the curb told her they saw the SUV approaching them at high speed and were able to quickly stand up and dodge the vehicle.
The men said the migrants were waiting to take buses to the downtown station, where they were to catch buses to their final destinations and reunite with their families, according to Pimentel.
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Pimentel said she had not seen a rise of anti-immigrant sentiment or violence targeting migrants in recent weeks, ahead of the expected lifting of the pandemic-era migration policy often referred to as Title 42.
“I am sure it exists but it’s not evident and we don’t see it,” she said. “I am sure a lot of people don’t want migrants to come in and see them stranded on the streets, but for the most part Brownsville is a welcoming and caring city and people want to help.”
Mario Saenz, a local migrant-rights activist, attended a vigil organized outside of the Ozanam migrant shelter on Monday morning. He described “a somber mood.”
“It’s hard for everyone here, but particularly, the migrants,” he said. “And we all think this was intentional, they are all scared.” Saenz said he had taken two of the injured men hit by the SUV to the hospital, among them Herrera.
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The Title 42 policy that is expected to lift this week allowed Customs and Border Protection to swiftly expel migrants seeking humanitarian protection at the southern border. The Department of Homeland Security has said it expects border crossings to soar after the expulsions end, atop an already large increase over the past two years.
The Biden administration last week ordered 1,500 active-duty troops to the southern border in response to the end of the restrictions.
Some migrant activists have blamed an anti-migrant tenor on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), who has made headlines for transporting migrants to Democratic parts of the country. Last week, he drew condemnation for his decision to identify five victims of a mass killing as “illegal immigrants,” which was not accurate.
Critics have also assailed Abbott for using inflammatory language such as “invasion” to characterize the border influx, noting that many new arrivals are young workers or children seeking a better life in the United States after fleeing poverty and repression in countries such as Venezuela. Abbott has said that his actions are necessary to defend the federal border.
The dire circumstances in the embattled nation have resulted in over 7 million people fleeing Venezuela since 2015, creating one of the world’s largest immigration crises. Thousands have traveled to the United States — many on foot — passing through several countries and dodging smugglers and cartels.
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Source: The Washington Post
