Brownsville Texas car crash: Video captures moments before …

Seven dead and 12 wounded in car accident outside migrant shelter in Brownsville, Texas

Sign up to our free US news bulletin sent straight to your inbox each weekday morning

Sign up to our free morning US email news bulletin

Horrifying security camera footage has captured the moments before an SUV slammed into a crowd of people outside a migrant shelter in the border city of Brownsville[1], Texas[2], on Sunday morning. The video, shared by Texas congressman Henry Cuellar, shows a group of people waiting for a bus outside the city's Bishop Enrique San Pedro Ozanam Center.

A grey Range Rover then rams into them. Seven people were killed in the crash - which officials initially said appeared to be intentional - before an eighth victim succumbed to their injuries in hospital later on Sunday. At least nine others were hospitalised.

Most of the victims were Venezuelan men who had spent the night at the shelter and were boarding a bus to return to downtown Brownsville. The driver - whose identity remains unknown - was also taken to hospital and police have since described him as "very uncooperative". "He will be transported to our city jail as soon as he gets released," said Brownsville police investigator Lt Martin Sandoval.

"Then we'll fingerprint him and [take a] mug shot, and then we can find his true identity."

Show latest update 1683549033

Man injured in crash says driver insulted migrants and shouted: 'You're invading my property!

While local police have insisted so far that they have yet to establish whether the driver's actions were intentional or accidental, comments made by one man at the scene cast doubt on that position. Luis Herrera, 33, who was hit by the SUV on Sunday and suffered a broken arm in the incident, claimed the driver was taunting the migrants before the crash took place. "He crossed the street and he hit the gas and he drove by my legs, and hurt my arm.

The others, he killed almost all of them," The Washington Post quotes him as saying[4]. The Post also reports that Mr Herrera recalls the driver yelling: "You're invading my property!" Joe Sommerlad8 May 2023 13:30

[3]1683547230

Driver 'very uncooperative at the hospital' say police

The suspect accused of ramming his car into a crowd in Brownsville was taken to the hospital for injuries sustained when the car rolled over, police have said, adding that he was "being very uncooperative at the hospital".

"But he will be transported to our city jail as soon as he gets released," they added. "Then we'll fingerprint him and [take a] mug shot, and then we can find his true identity. Police retrieved a blood sample and sent it to a Texas Department of Public Safety lab to test for intoxicants." Brownsville investigator Lt Martin Sandoval said there are three possible explanations for the collision: "It could be intoxication; it could be an accident; or it could be intentional.

In order for us to find out exactly what happened, we have to eliminate the other two." Joe Sommerlad8 May 2023 13:00

[5]1683546033

Catholic Charities director: 'Migrants don't service this tragic reality'

Sister Norma Pimentel, the executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, said the Ozanam Center in Brownsville typically houses some migrants overnight and had received no direct threats in connection with the border crisis in recent weeks. Sister Pimentel said it was "truly unfortunate that this tragic thing happened," according to NBC.

"It's something that, with all the attention to the migrants, it must pick up the attention to those who are against them." Migrants "don't deserve to face this tragic reality," she added. Joe Sommerlad8 May 2023 12:40

[6]1683544833

Brownsville bishop: 'We must resist the corrosive tendency to devalue the lives of immigrants'

Bishop Daniel Flores of the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville has issued the following pointed statement on Sunday's tragedy.

"As we await a fuller report from law enforcement authorities, let us stop for a moment to mourn these losses of life and to pray. Pray for the victims, pray for the families and loved ones, and pray for our community. "We must resist the corrosive tendency to devalue the lives of immigrants, the poor, and the vulnerable.

Let us take extra steps as a local community to care for and protect one another, especially the most vulnerable." Joe Sommerlad8 May 2023 12:20

[7]1683543633

Brownville mayor Trey Mendez posts update

The city's mayor has posted this update on Facebook, noting the increased death toll, reporting the lack of information from the driver and promising a police press conference later today. He also thanks emergency service personnel for their response and expresses his condolences to the shelter staff reeling from the tragedy.

Brownsville's mayor gives an update on the incident

(Trey Mendez/Facebook) Joe Sommerlad8 May 2023 12:00

[8]1683542433

Recap: What we know so far

If you're just joining us, this is what we know so far about Sunday's shocking incident near a migrant shelter in the Texas border city of Brownsville.

• A grey Range Rover SUV slammed into a crowd of people waiting for a bus outside of a migrant shelter known as the Bishop Enrique San Pedro Ozanam Center in Brownsville at approximately 8.30am on Sunday morning.
• Eight people died in the incident and another nine were hospitalised, the victims largely composed of Venezuelan men said to be returning to downtown Brownsville after spending the night at the shelter.
• The driver, an unnamed Hispanic male[10], was reportedly detained at the scene by bystanders and is also now in hospital and has been charged with reckless driving. He has been described by police as "very uncooperative".
• They are seeking to establish whether his actions were accidental or intentional and are working to determine whether he was intoxicated by alcohol or drugs at the time.
• One witness told local media[11]: "We were going to the airport and it happened unexpectedly because a woman in a car passed by and advised us to separate and moments later the killer was coming in the car gesturing and insulting us."

Joe Sommerlad8 May 2023 11:40

[9]1683540933

Shocking video captures moments before car rammed into migrants outside Brownsville shelter

Be warned, some viewers may find this security camera footage taken at the scene distressing.

CCTV captutes moment vehicle crashes into people outside Texas migrant shelter Joe Sommerlad8 May 2023 11:15

[12]1683537958

Shelter director describes horror crash

The director of the migrant shelter where the crash unfolded has spoken out about the horror scene. Victor Maldonado, the director of the Ozanam Center, told CNN that there was about 20 to 25 migrants outside the centre waiting for a bus.

He said the migrants were from Venezuala and had come to the shelter about two or three days earlier. Security footage from the shelter captured what happened next. The SUV sped quickly along the road, crashing into the group.

Mr Maldonado said he and a staff member ran outside and came across the horrific scene with victims' body parts strewn around. He said that they are both still "in shock" from what they saw. Rachel Sharp8 May 2023 10:25

[13]1683536430

Investigation continues into Brownsville crash

An SUV slammed into a crowd of people waiting for a bus Sunday outside a migrant shelter in the border city of Brownsville, Texas, killing at least seven people and injuring at least 10, police said as they prepared to arrest the hospitalized driver.

With no bench at the unmarked city bus stop, some of the victims were sitting on the curb around 8.30am when the driver hit them, surveillance video from the Bishop Enrique San Pedro Ozanam Center showed. Brownsville police investigator Martin Sandoval said police did not know whether the collision was intentional.

Police work at the scene after a driver crashed into several people in Brownsville, Texas, on 7 May 2023 (AFP/Getty)

Shelter director Victor Maldonado said the SUV ran up the curb, flipped and continued moving for about 200ft. Some people walking on the sidewalk about 30ft from the main group were also hit, Mr Maldonado said. Witnesses detained the driver as he tried to run away and held him until police arrived, he said.

"This SUV, a Range Rover, just ran the light that was about 100ft away and just went through the people who were sitting there in the bus stop," said Mr Maldonado, who reviewed the shelter's surveillance video. Victims struck by the vehicle were waiting for the bus to return to downtown Brownsville after having spent the night at the overnight shelter, said Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valle. Namita Singh8 May 2023 10:00

[14]1683535254

Death toll climbs to eight from horror crash

The death toll from the horror crash outside a migrant shelter in Brownsville, Texas, has now climbed to eight.

Seven people were found dead at the scene and 10 others were rushed to hospitals.

Later on Sunday, an eighth victim succumbed to their injuries in hospital, officials said.

Rachel Sharp8 May 2023 09:40

[15]

References

1. ^ Brownsville (www.independent.co.uk)
2. ^ Texas (www.independent.co.uk)
3. ^ 1683549033 (www.independent.co.uk)
4. ^ quotes him as saying (www.washingtonpost.com)
5. ^ 1683547230 (www.independent.co.uk)
6. ^ 1683546033 (www.independent.co.uk)
7. ^ 1683544833 (www.independent.co.uk)
8. ^ 1683543633 (www.independent.co.uk)
9. ^ 1683542433 (www.independent.co.uk)
10. ^ an unnamed Hispanic male (www.nbcnews.com)
11. ^ told local media (www.valleycentral.com)
12. ^ 1683540933 (www.independent.co.uk)
13. ^ 1683537958 (www.independent.co.uk)
14. ^ 1683536430 (www.independent.co.uk)
15. ^ 1683535254 (www.independent.co.uk)