Brownsville, TX, police identified the man accused of driving his car into a crowd outside a migrant shelter. Eight people died:
George Alvarez, 34, was behind the wheel of the Range Rover that struck 18 people, killing eight, outside Brownsville’s Ozanam Center, a shelter for migrants and homeless people in the community, Brownsville Police Chief Felix Sauceda told reporters Monday.Alvarez, whom police said has a long rap sheet, has been formally charged and arraigned on eight counts of manslaughter and 10 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was already charged with reckless driving in the early stages of the investigation.The victims were waiting at a city bus stop next to the center at roughly 8:30 a.m. Sunday, when the crash occurred.
Police Chief Felix Sauceda said they are still waiting for toxicology results “to determine whether Alvarez was intoxicated,” and he could not discuss any motive.
Alvarez’s bond is $3,600,000.
The crash also injured 10 people:
With no bench at the unmarked city bus stop, some of the victims were sitting on the curb around 8:30 a.m. when the driver hit them, surveillance video from the Bishop Enrique San Pedro Ozanam Center showed. Brownsville police investigator Martin Sandoval, who confirmed the latest death Sunday evening, said police did not know whether the collision was intentional.Shelter director Victor Maldonado said the SUV ran up the curb, flipped and continued moving for about 200 feet. Some people walking on the sidewalk about 30 feet from the main group were also hit, Maldonado said.”This SUV, a Range Rover, just ran the light that was about 100 feet away and just went through the people who were sitting there in the bus stop,” said Maldonado, who reviewed the shelter’s surveillance video.
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