7 killed in pedestrian crash near migrant shelter in Texas; the driver is in custody

A driver appears to have deliberately plowed into pedestrians standing at a bus stop at a migrant shelter in South Texas, killing seven people. authorities told CBS4 on Sunday.

Martin Sandoval, a spokesman for the Brownsville Police Department, told the CBS affiliate KRGTV that officers received a call around 8:30 a.m. local time about the incident, which they later learned involved a Land Rover that “ran into several people” while they were waiting at a bus stop outside the Ozanam center, a migrant shelter and the homeless. people.

Police found seven people already dead when they arrived at the scene, Sandoval said. Four to six people were injured and taken to nearby hospitals for treatment. According to the spokesperson, their injuries range from minor to serious.

Officers detained the driver of the Land Rover, who was “receiving medical attention” when Sandoval spoke to KRGTV Sunday afternoon, he said at the time. The driver faces criminal liability, at least for careless driving.

“But it’s more than likely that other charges will be filed later that day,” Sandoval told the news station. “We’re also doing due diligence, which means we’re actually trying to find out if he’s intoxicated or not. So we’re doing all those tests as well.”

Several roads were closed after the incident.

The fatal incident is still under investigation, but witnesses told police that “the car lost control” when it happened.

“We now know whether it was accidental or intentional, it’s still under investigation,” Sandoval said. The spokesman noted that people who witnessed the incident “started to help some of those who were there” and detained the driver themselves while waiting for the police to arrive.

Brownsville police shared few details in their latest update on the crash, which Sandoval described as a “major accident” in a video message released to the department Facebook page.

“We have all the roads closed, so we are asking people to find alternative routes,” he said. “Like I said … we got a call at 8:30 a.m. about the accident. That’s all the information we have at this point. But we’ll have more information if you continue to follow us here on this channel.