No fewer than seven people were killed while several others were injured after a car plowed through a group waiting at a bus stop outside a migrant aid centre in south Texas, United States, on Sunday, May 7.
Law enforcement said they were treating the incident as an accident for now, though a witness revealed that the driver had yelled insults at the group before accelerating.
Local police spokesman, Martin Sandoval, disclosed that the gray sport utility vehicle “went through a red light and ran over several people” at about 8:30 am (1330 GMT) in Brownsville, a border city at the southernmost tip of the state.
Sandoval said seven people died and “nearly 10” other people were injured.
Luis Herrera, whose arm was hurt in the incident, said the crash was “sudden.”
“A woman went by in a car and warned us to get out of the way.
“It was a matter of moments. The killer came (through) in the car, gesturing at us, insulting us,” 36-year-old Herrera told AFP.
Herrera, a Venezuelan, then described the driver as accelerating the car to full force.
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The motorist, whom Sandoval said was also taken to the hospital, was detained by witnesses until police arrived, adding that he has been charged with reckless driving.
“More than likely there’s going to be other charges coming on later,” Sandoval said without clarifying what the additional charges might be.
Authorities have launched an investigation into whether the fatal crash was an accident or intentional, Sandoval said.
“We’re looking (into it),” he added.
The victims were among a crowd of about 25 people waiting at a bus stop, according to Victor Maldonado, the executive director of the Ozanam Centre, a homeless shelter across the street from the crash.
The group, whom he said were all Venezuelan, had just eaten breakfast at the facility.
He described a grisly scene, with body parts left behind along the street.
Witnesses were “really shocked. It was pretty intense,” Maldonado said.
The homeless centre is open 24 hours per day, Maldonado said, adding: “We’ve been housing individuals coming from Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, China, Ukraine – and multiple Venezuelans.”
Sandoval said at least some of the victims were migrants, but could not confirm whether they all were.
“It’s something that we are investigating with border police,” he said.
The news of the tragedy comes as authorities brace for the lifting on Thursday of a Donald Trump-era federal policy that allows border patrol officers to deport or turn away migrants without even accepting their asylum applications.
The looming expiration of the rule known as Title 42 has authorities fearing a spike in undocumented migrants entering the United States.
It also comes a day after a shooter killed at least eight people at a shopping mall, also in Texas, in the latest mass shooting to rock the country.
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