BROWNSVILLE, Texas — Authorities have charged the driver who slammed into people waiting for a bus Sunday morning in Brownsville with eight counts of manslaughter and 10 counts of aggravated assault, Chief Felix Sauceda announced on Monday.
Police arrested George Alvarez, 34, on Sunday morning after he ran a red light and drove a silver SUV into a group of men waiting for a bus outside a migrant shelter in Brownsville, a city near the U.S. border with Mexico, according to officials and The Associated Press. The crash claimed eight lives and left 10 others injured.
Sauceda said authorities continued Monday to investigate whether Alvarez might have been intoxicated at the time of the crash or whether the incident was intentional. He said that Alvarez tried to run after the collision, but he was held down by people at the scene until police arrived.
[ 7 dead after SUV hits crowd at bus stop near border in Texas ]
The police chief described Alvarez as “a Brownsville local with an extensive rap sheet.” He has previously faced aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, driving while intoxicated, burglary of a vehicle and several other charges.
Most of the victims struck Sunday were immigrants, KRGV-TV reported. Sauceda said Monday that many of them were from Venezuela. They were gathered outside the Ozanam Center, a shelter that also serves the homeless, according to its website.
Some of the victims told reporters that the SUV’s driver cursed at them during the collision, though Sauceda said Monday that authorities had yet to find evidence confirming the allegations. Alvarez was not cooperating with investigators on Monday, the chief added. He could face more charges as authorities continue to investigate.
Shelter director Victor Maldonado told the AP that surveillance video from the Ozanam Center showed an SUV going over a curb and striking people who were sitting at the bus stop on Sunday morning. The SUV flipped and continued to move for about 200 feet, hitting some people who were walking, he said.
A man identified only as Jesus told KVEO-TV that he had traveled from Venezuela and spent three days at the Ozanam Center before Sunday’s crash. He said his family had bought him a plane ticket to Utah and that he was waiting for a bus to take him to the airport.
“We were waiting there and the truck sped through the traffic light and by the grace of God nothing happened to us, but they did hit the others around us,” he told KVEO.
Police initially said seven people were killed in the attack. On Sunday night, the death toll rose to eight, NPR reported.